
Younghoe Koo made all of his kicks.
Happy playoff semi-finals weekend for most leagues. If you are somehow still in it with an Atlanta Falcon starting in your fantasy lineup you likely had a much better day today than you did last weekend, when the entire offense looked stuck in neutral.
The roller coaster of a regular season continued with a victory against a very hot Colts team which had won five of their last six coming into this game. After going down 7-0 following the opening drive of the afternoon, the Falcons’ offense exploded for a season high 29 points and the defense locked in, allowing just three more points for the rest of the afternoon.
There is a lot of great content available here at The Falcoholic, and I encourage you to check it out if you want some in-depth analysis. This article will look at things strictly from a fantasy football perspective (that means looking at nothing other than pure statistics). Here is Atlanta’s fantasy stud and fantasy dud from Week 16’s victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
Fantasy Stud/Dud 2023 History:
Past Studs: Bijan Robinson (5), Drake London (2), Falcons D/ST (2), Tyler Allgeier (1), Kyle Pitts (1), Desmond Ridder (1), Younghoe Koo (1), Jonnu Smith (1)
Past Duds: Kyle Pitts (4), Drake London (3), Bijan Robinson (3), Younghoe Koo (2), Tyler Allgeier (1), Desmond Ridder (1)
Fantasy Stud – Younghoe Koo
Stat Line: 2-2 XP, 5-5 FG (2-2 20-29, 1-1 30-39, 2-2 40-49): 17.0 standard league/PPR points
Younghoe Koo has appeared in the “dud” part of this column in the past through no fault of his own, just because he didn’t get the opportunity. The opposite was true in this one, as he had the chance to kick seven times, including five field goals, and he converted on all of them.
This was almost a nightmare start for the Georgia Southern alum, who actually missed his initial field goal attempt from 49 yards, almost bringing his streak of missed FGs to three, dating back to two weeks ago. An offside call on the defense resulted in a shorter eventual attempt which Koo nailed for redemption. The rest of his kicks weren’t nearly as dramatic.
Koo was an elite option for those who started him this week, and he likely will play a part in kicking you into your championship matchup. Things may get shakier next week in the elements and against a suddenly inspired Chicago Bears defense, however.
Dud
Drake London: 3 catches, 39 receiving yards: 3.9 standard league points; 6.9 PPR points
As much of a roller coaster as Atlanta’s season has been, owning Drake London in fantasy football may be an even bigger one, as it was another downturn this week. The USC alum failed to record 40 yards for the seventh time this season and for the third time in four games.
New starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke made an effort to spread the ball around, completing a pass to nine different players in this one, with London tied for third in targets, receptions and yards. Bijan Robinson was peppered with 10 targets out of the backfield and Kyle Pitts was the go to man early on, including on the opening touchdown, leaving London as the odd man out.
The Falcons’ number one receiver will have some flex appeal next weekend with Heinicke known for not being bashful in pushing the ball downfield, but it could continue to be tough sledding if the ball continues to get distributed the way it was against Indy.