Grant Halverson/Getty Images Younghoe Koo of the Atlanta Falcons kicks a field goal against the Carolina Panthers on October 29, 2020.
Atlanta Falcons beloved kicker Younghoe Koo needs your help after someone stole his jeep and cleats in the middle of the night on Saturday in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Koo took to Instagram to where he shared a picture of an empty parking space and wrote, “Mfs stole my Jeep smh. Can you just bring my cleats back tho.”
“I won’t even be mad bro just bring all my cleats back so I can go kick,” he added and included the license plate and tagged ATL Scoop, an account that helps find missing cars.
Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo’s Jeep was stolen this morning.
Please bring back his cleats , Falcons cannot afford to miss any extra points this season 🙏🏿
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Falcons Re-Signed Koo Following Pro Bowl Season
The Falcons resigned Koo, who made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career this past season.
The Georgia Southern product entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the LA Chargers in 2017, appearing in just four games before getting waived. In that time, he made three of six field goal attempts. For the 2019 season, he spent some time on the New England Patriots practice squad before the Falcons signed him in late October. He finished his first stint in Atlanta converting 23 of 26 field goal attempts and 15 of 16 extra points.
But the 2020 season was his best year yet, earning Pro Bowl honors after making 37 of 39 field goal attempts (94.9 percent), including eight of eight from at least 50 yards. Koo also converted 33 of 36 extra point attempts for a career-high 144 points. Not to mention that his 37 made field goals led the NFL and surpassed Matt Bryant (35 in 2016 and 2017) for the most field goals in a single season in franchise history.
In addition, Koo converted 27 consecutive field goals between Week 4 and Week 15 last year, marking the longest in-season streak in Atlanta Falcons history and the second-longest streak in franchise history overall. He also notably became the first player to make at least eight field goals of 50-or-more yards without a miss in a season in Falcons history.
Arthur Smith Has an Upgrade at Kicker
Tori McElhaney of The Athletic reported back in February that Younghoe Koo was one of the players who stood out the most on the Falcons’ roster to Arthur Smith when he officially took over as head coach.
The guy who Arthur Smith really likes now that he’s taken a more in depth look at this roster: Younghoe Koo
While Smith won’t be seeing another Derrick Henry in Atlanta, he will be seeing an upgrade from Tennesee Titans’ kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
Looking back at least season, Tennessee finished 4th in points scored with 491 where Gostkowski was responsible for 100 of those (54 via field goals, 46 via extra points). Meanwhile, the Falcons finished 16th in points scored with 396 with Koo chipping in 144 of those. Koo played a big role for the Falcons’ poor 2020 offense, contributing 37% of the team’s points. While Gostkowski was responsible for just 20% of the Titans.
And when it came to field goals, out of all kickers with at least 20 attempts, Gostkowski finished second-to-last in field goal percentage with 69% after making only 18 of his 26 tries.
Unlike Gostkowski, Koo has proven to be reliable from anywhere point on the field, therefore the kicker position is one less thing that Smith will have to worry about next season.
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Falcons K Younghoe Koo Gets Jeep, Cleats Stolen Overnight