Falcons Training Camp 3 To Watch: Specialists

Last season, the Atlanta Falcons struggled moving the football, ranking just 29th in total yards gained. As a result, they attempted the eighth-fewest field goals in the league and were in the top-half of the league in total punts.

While Younghoe Koo has an extremely firm grasp on the kicking position, the Falcons' punting room has been a revolving door since the Falcons hired coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot after the 2020 season.

They started with second-year punter Sterling Hofrichter, a seventh-round pick by the last regime, but waived him off injured reserve prior to the start of the season. For the season, Atlanta turned to Cameron Nizialek, Dustin Colquitt and Thomas Morstead, with the group collectively ranking middle of the pack in yards per punt and net average.

This offseason, Atlanta failed to retain any of its punters from a season ago, and also lost All-Pro long snapper Josh Harris, who signed with the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason.

Now faced with battles at both positions, here are three specialists to watch during training camp.

Younghoe Koo

Koo has been one of the best kickers in the NFL since joining the Falcons during the 2019 season, converting 87 field goals on 94 attempts (92.5 percent). Atlanta made Koo the second-highest paid kicker in the NFL in March, keeping him with the team for the next five years.

The 27-year-old from Georgia Southern has no competition in the room, with all questions involving him focused on his ranking relative to the rest of the league's kickers. The Falcons enjoyed Matt Bryant for 11 seasons, and Koo has done a tremendous job carrying the torch.

One potential trait to watch in camp regarding Koo is his distance. While his career long of 54 is more than respectable, the further he can kick it, the better for Atlanta's offense. Other than that, look for Koo's trademark accuracy to continue in his fourth season with the Falcons.

Bradley Pinion

Pinion, a fifth-round pick in 2015, spent four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before playing the last three with the Bucs. He won a ring with the Bucs in Super Bowl LV. However, Tampa Bay released him in June, with the Falcons quickly scooping him up.

The 28-year-old Pinion was below the Falcons' 2021 group in net yards (39.6 vs. 40.3) and average yards per punt (43.2 vs. 45.4). He faces competition from undrafted rookie Seth Vernon, a 6-5, 230-pounder with a big leg, averaging almost 45 yards per punt at Portland State with 12 going for 50+ yards, including a season-long of 65 yards.

Atlanta could handle the punting situation like they did last year, bringing in multiple veterans throughout the campaign, something certainly on Pinion's mind as training camp rolls out. If he struggles, expect the Falcons to look outside the building, especially as the rest of the league begins to cut punters as rosters are trimmed down.

Liam McCullough

McCullough, 25, is tasked with replacing Harris as Atlanta's starting long snapper. A third-year pro out of Ohio State, McCullough has yet to appear in an NFL game. He's made it to camp with the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers.

His biggest form of competition is Beau Brinkley, who Atlanta signed in early April. Brinkley played in all 16 regular season games each season from 2012-2019 for the Titans, with his time coinciding with Arthur Smith’s. He’s played in just 10 games the last two years, three of which came in 2021 with the Arizona Cardinals. However, the team placed Brinkley on injured reverse shortly after signing McCullough.

After having one of the league's best long snappers for years, the Falcons are now faced with a conundrum between two guys on opposite ends of the spectrum: McCullough, the inexperienced 25-year-old journeyman, and Brinkley, the seasoned but recently oft-injured pro. McCullough is poised to get his first chance to start in the NFL, and has a chance to fill the Harris-sized hole at long snapper for years to come.