I struggle with how to project Younghoe Koo each week. Traditionally it’s not a good idea to count on good production from a kicker on a bad team. Yet, he keeps knocking in the field goals, week after week.
We’re two thirds of the way through the season, and Falcons (while just 4-7) are on pace to finish with the 3rd-most kicking points in league history. And Koo has actually been a little better than that; he missed a game (and the Falcons scored only 1 field goal and 1 extra point in that one). Koo has averaged almost 11 points, which would put him at 174 for a full 16-game season.
Koo was similarly awesome last year, leading the league in kicking points in the second half of the season (after they signed him to replace Matt Bryant).
If you’ve got Koo, the general feel is to just go ahead and keep starting him, trying to ride that wave. That’s easy in theory, of course. It gets harder when you’re measuring Koo against another viable kicking option. Koo doesn’t have a particularly good matchup this week – playing against a Saints defense that’s really been balling as of late. What if you have another viable kicking option, perhaps Jason Sanders (vs. Cin.), Justin Tucker (vs. Dall.) or Jason Myers (vs. NYG). Do you start Koo ahead of those guys?
The bigger picture stats tell us that what Koo is doing is statistically unlikely. In NFL history, 60 other teams have finished seasons with 140 kicking points (barring a dramatic change in production, Atlanta will join this group). Only two of those 60 teams finished with losing records.
Neil Rackers with the Cardinals was able to have one of these Koo-type seasons in 2005. And Robbie Gould with the 49ers had one in 2017. More typically, the high-scoring kickers tend to come from the powerhouse teams that are winning 11-13 games.
Whatever. It’s the pivotal Week 13, with fantasy playoff spots hanging in the balance. If Koo has helped get you this far, probably best to just stick him out there and hope he can keep it going.
TEAMS WITH 140 KICKING POINTS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | W-L-T | Points |
2017 | Los Angeles Rams | 11-5 | 168 |
2011 | San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | 166 |
1998 | Minnesota Vikings | 15-1 | 164 |
2017 | Kansas City | 10-6 | 163 |
2003 | St. Louis Rams | 12-4 | 163 |
1983 | Washington | 14-2 | 161 |
2016 | Atlanta Falcons | 11-5 | 158 |
2013 | New England Patriots | 12-4 | 158 |
2003 | Indianapolis Colts | 12-4 | 157 |
2017 | New England Patriots | 13-3 | 156 |
2014 | New England Patriots | 12-4 | 156 |
2018 | Los Angeles Rams | 13-3 | 153 |
2012 | New England Patriots | 12-4 | 153 |
2015 | New England Patriots | 12-4 | 151 |
2013 | Denver Broncos | 13-3 | 150 |
2018 | Houston Texans | 11-5 | 150 |
2014 | Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | 150 |
2005 | Arizona Cardinals | 5-11 | 149 |
2008 | New York Giants | 12-4 | 149 |
1991 | Washington | 14-2 | 149 |
2008 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | 148 |
2005 | New York Giants | 11-5 | 148 |
2019 | Kansas City | 12-4 | 147 |
2011 | New Orleans Saints | 13-3 | 147 |
2015 | Carolina Panthers | 15-1 | 146 |
2009 | San Diego Chargers | 13-3 | 146 |
2017 | San Francisco 49ers | 6-10 | 145 |
1996 | Carolina Panthers | 12-4 | 145 |
1999 | Indianapolis Colts | 13-3 | 145 |
2012 | New York Giants | 9-7 | 145 |
1968 | New York Jets | 11-3 | 145 |
1985 | Chicago Bears | 15-1 | 144 |
1999 | Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | 144 |
2019 | New Orleans Saints | 13-3 | 144 |
2008 | Philadelphia Eagles | 9-6-1 | 144 |
2013 | San Diego Chargers | 9-7 | 144 |
2012 | Atlanta Falcons | 13-3 | 143 |
2006 | Chicago Bears | 13-3 | 143 |
2011 | New England Patriots | 13-3 | 143 |
2010 | Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | 143 |
2013 | Seattle Seahawks | 13-3 | 143 |
1987 | New Orleans Saints | 12-3 | 142 |
2010 | Oakland Raiders | 8-8 | 142 |
2017 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 13-3 | 142 |
2019 | Baltimore Ravens | 14-2 | 141 |
2018 | Baltimore Ravens | 10-6 | 141 |
2017 | Baltimore Ravens | 9-7 | 141 |
2016 | Baltimore Ravens | 8-8 | 141 |
2007 | Green Bay Packers | 13-3 | 141 |
2013 | Green Bay Packers | 8-7-1 | 141 |
2012 | Minnesota Vikings | 10-6 | 141 |
2004 | New England Patriots | 14-2 | 141 |
1995 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-5 | 141 |
2013 | Baltimore Ravens | 8-8 | 140 |
1998 | Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | 140 |
2011 | Green Bay Packers | 15-1 | 140 |
2014 | Indianapolis Colts | 11-5 | 140 |
1986 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | 140 |
2017 | New Orleans Saints | 11-5 | 140 |
2013 | San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | 140 |
—Ian Allan