There’s one major competition and an otherwise mostly settled picture for Falcons special teams.
With the 2025 NFL Draft over, it’s a fine time to revisit the Atlanta Falcons roster. While there are inevitable changes between now and roster cuts, chiefly in terms of churn on the bottom of the roster, the broad contours are known.
That’s especially true on special teams, where the specialists are either well-established or have known competition that will be unlikely to change unless injury crops up. Long snapper and punter appear to be set in stone, the returner spots are fairly settled so long as a new addition is healthy, but kicker is a true competition for the first time in recent memory.
We’ll work backwards from here all the way to quarterback, so join me as we begin our post-draft journey through this roster.
Kicker
Competitors: Younghoe Koo/Lenny Krieg
This is a legitimate competition, and though I’d normally give the established option the edge, I’m genuinely unsure how this one turns out. That’s why we have two competitors with no likely starter listed.
Koo has the track record. From 2019 to 2023, he hit at least 86.5% of his kicks (including a sterling 94.9% in 2020) every single year, emerging as a reliable fan favorite who also could be a wizard with onside kick trickery. Last year, Koo’s implosion could be blamed on some combination of mechanics, injury, and tough situations, but it was a dismal season regardless. Koo hit just 73.5% of his kicks, which put him ahead of just seven other kickers in the league, all of whom have either been cut, were hurt, are facing competition this year, or all of the above. There were rumblings of concern at times in 2023 and 2024 because of inopportune missed kicks, but nobody expected that.
Krieg, meanwhile, is the new face. The Falcons seemed very eager to sign him, jumping in front of a queue of other teams interested in the German kicker after he impressed in workouts and did fine work this past season in Europe. The haste with which the Falcons moved to land him tells you they wanted competition for Koo, and that they think he’s an enticing option. All of that gives him a chance to unseat the incumbent, should he kick well this summer.
Koo is only under contract until 2026 and the Falcons can move on fairly easily if Krieg wins this competition, which adds more fuel to the fire here. I’d be tempted to bet on Krieg given the interesting the Falcons had in him, but Koo was one of the league’s more reliable kickers just a short time ago. If he’s healthy and can course correct from last year’s shaky season, he’ll have a more than fair chance to win the battle. The fact that the Falcons are between a bet on a bounceback and a relative unknown is a little scary, but these are both talented players.
Punter
Likely starter: Bradley Pinion
There’s no competition for Pinion, who had a comparative down year but largely did so in the background of Koo’s struggles, the Kirk Cousins kerfuffle, and the million other stories that made up the 2024 season. Pinion was not bad, but was in the bottom third of the league in most punting metrics; most distressing was the fact that he was dead last in terms of punts that landed inside the 20.
The Falcons apparently aren’t concerned that Pinion will repeat that performance or (worse) slip even further, though there’s still a summer ahead. Hopefully Pinion will return to being a league average punter who can consistently pin teams inside the 20, something he did much more regularly during his first two years in Atlanta.
Long snapper
Likely starter: Liam McCullough
There’s little to say here. McCullough has a fresh deal and has been exactly the kind of capable, invisible long snapper every team wants to have around. As long as that continues, he’ll be here, and that’s a good thing.
Kick returner
Likely options: Jamal Agnew/Ray-Ray McCloud
Competitors: Natrone Brooks, Billy Bowman, Clark Phillips
So long as he’s healthy, Agnew is basically replacing Avery Williams, who landed with the Eagles. In his last full, healthy season back in 2023, Agnew was top ten in kick return yardage and yards per return, logging the 12th-highest return total in the NFL. With a pair of career return touchdowns and a very healthy average of 25.5 yards per return over his seven seasons in the NFL, Agnew is a seasoned and quality kick returner. The only question, again, is his health.
McCloud, meanwhile, put up a 25.8 yards per return average in 2024 and was 19th in returns and 21st in return yardage. At the very worst, he’s a solid returner who offers welcome physicality back there, and McCloud should be a fine complement to Agnew.
I don’t expect anyone to beat these two players out for a spot, but Billy Bowman had some (mixed) college experience, Brooks handled punts in school and fielded one kick for 22 yards a year ago, and Clark Phillips has had some success on returns. The team will have emergency options, but Agnew and McCloud are easily their best and most established players here.
Tyler Allgeier would also be a fun option—he fielded a handful of kicks in college and did quite well—but the Falcons are unlikely to seriously entertain that notion, given that they haven’t to this point.
Punt returner
Likely option: Jamal Agnew
Competitors: Natrone Brooks, Clark Phillips
Agnew has four career punt return touchdowns, led the league in return average in his rookie season, and despite some ups and downs has been a quality option here throughout his career. He’s probably a better kick returner and worse punt returner than peak Avery Williams, but peak Avery Williams is both literally and figuratively gone.
If Agnew can’t take on the job for any reason, Brooks and Phillips have a little experience and a little success in college to fall back on as they push for roles this summer. Assuming good health, this is Agnew’s job to lose.