Over the next few months, we’re breaking down all of the undrafted free agents signed by the Jets since April’s draft. However, today we are focusing on a recent veteran addition; kicker Younghoe Koo.
The 31-year old Koo is listed at 5’9” and 185 pounds and was undrafted out of Georgia Southern in 2017. After getting cut one month into his career, Koo was out of the league for two seasons but then became an inspirational story as he ended up as a pro bowler. He spent seven seasons with the Falcons before being released last season.
Background
Koo was an impressive kicker in high school and ended up at Georgia Southern where he just kicked 12 field goals in his first three seasons as he was mostly a kickoff specialist.
In 2016, he had the full-time placekicker role for the entire season for the first time and was a third team all-American as he made 19 of 20 field goals with his only miss being an attempt at a career-best 54 yarder before halftime in one game.
The Los Angeles Chargers signed Koo as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and he won the kicker role as a rookie. However, he missed potential game-winners in each of his first two games and was released after week four with the Chargers winless.
The Chargers head coach stated that they wanted someone with more consistency and experience and said that Koo was talented enough to bounce back and have a long career but the Chargers were criticized for making him a scapegoat, especially since one of the misses was a blocked kick he couldn’t have done anything to prevent.
Koo didn’t get another shot that season, or in 2018, so he opted to join the AAF’s Atlanta Legends. This was going well, as he was 14 for 14 with two game winners, but then the league ceased operations. However, he had shown enough to get back onto NFL radars.
After a brief stop in New England, Koo signed for Atlanta in October 2019 and marked his first NFL appearance in two years by making all four of his field goals. By the end of the season he had made 23 of 26 field goals and won two special teams player of the week awards.
Clearly Koo had finally found a home as he made 95 percent of his field goals in 2020 to head to the pro bowl and then made 93 percent in 2021.
Having signed a five-year extension ahead of the 2022 season, Koo would continue to do a solid job over the next three seasons. However, when he missed a game-tying field goal in last year’s season opener, he was benched and then released.
He spent six games with the Giants after his release, missing three of 18 kicks and bizarrely aborting another attempt in a viral moment that he explained was caused by the ball slipping from the holder’s grasp as he was about to kick it.
The Jets signed Koo last week, in response to an injury to Cade York and then released another kicker, Lenny Krieg, when York returned.
Now let’s break Koo down in a variety of categories, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Koo is a little on the small side, but he has some athleticism as he participated in high jump, long jump and javelin as a high schooler.
Leg Strength
Koo’s longest field goal in college was just 53 yards but he has made a 58-yard game-winner at the NFL level.
In all, he has made 29 field goals of 50 yards or longer in NFL regular season action, with 13 misses.
On kickoffs, he had an impressive record in high school, where he posted a 94 percent touchback rate in his final season with over half of those going through the end zone.
Kickoffs were his main role for most of his college career too but he had mixed results with a 67 percent touchback rate in his most effective season. At the NFL level, his touchback rate is under 50 percent although he has had three seasons at over 50 percent. The punter handled kickoff duties for Atlanta most of the time after 2021 though.
Koo’s accuracy percentage for field goals at the NFL level is a solid 85 percent, which is 12th among active players and 23rd all-time. He’s also made 96 percent of his extra points.
However, he made just 73.5 percent in 2024; the worst of his career in a full season. He then made just six of nine last season, which doesn’t include the aborted attempt.
He hasn’t been let down much by his kickoff accuracy at the NFL level, although he did have one penalty for bouncing one short of the landing zone last season. He has never been penalized for putting a kickoff out of bounds at the NFL level, although he did do this multiple times in college.
Koo developed a knack for making clutch kicks with the Falcons as he had eight game winners from 2021 to 2023. In 2024, he made a game-winner and a clutch game-tying field goal in a game the Falcons ultimately won in overtime, both from beyond 50 yards. The second of those came despite a delay of game penalty moving it back and adding to the pressure.
However, his record in clutch situations hasn’t been perfect. As noted, he missed two game winners at the start of his career and had a key miss in last season’s opener. He also had a game-tying field goal blocked during his pro bowl year.
Koo will contribute in kick coverage when necessary. He had three tackles in college and has eight at the NFL level.
He should be good in this area, having played as a defensive back in addition to his kicker duties in high school. He also had nine pass breakups and six interceptions in that role.
In addition to his tackling, Koo also recovered a fumble at the NFL level.
Intangibles/Miscellaneous
Koo has punted twice in his NFL career. One was a 45 yarder but the other was just a 25-yarder. He is also known as having a knack for onside kicks having attempted six in his career. He actually had three successful onside kicks in one game, although one was negated by a penalty.
Having been born in South Korea, Koo has become an important Asian-American athlete and used his platform to speak out against anti-Asian violence during his career.
During his career Koo has shown composure, accountability and determination. He also played through an injury at one stage, displaying toughness.
Injuries haven’t been a major issue for Koo, although he was placed on injured reserve late in the 2024 season with a hip issue. He missed one game in college and one game in 2020 with a groin issue, but played through a minor foot injury in 2019.
Koo was on his school’s or the Sun Belt conference’s academic honor roll multiple times while in college.
While with the Giants and Falcons, he has been a teammate of current Jets players Dane Belton, Da’Quan Felton, Mykal Walker and David Onyemata.
He hasn’t been directly involved in any fake field goals.
Conclusions
Koo addresses the Jets need for an experienced veteran with York and Krieg the only previous options on the roster to compete for Nick Folk’s old role.
Reports out of OTAs this week suggest that Koo wasn’t very impressive in front of the media on Tuesday, badly shanking a 53-yarder and then also missing from 45. Krieg was released after a similar situation last week, so Koo’s job might be under threat already.
Hopefully Koo can settle down and start to perform like he did with Atlanta because the kicker position is a minor concern right now. Having let Nick Folk walk, the Jets are hoping someone will step up and it doesn’t sound like it’s happened yet. This brings back memories of how the Jets allowed pro bowler Jason Myers to walk several years ago and then struggled to find a viable replacement for the next few years.
It’s a good opportunity for Koo, as long as the Jets will be more patient with him than they were with Krieg. If he doesn’t impress, though, the Jets’ 2026 kicker may not be on the roster right now.