Nick Folk
Folk was brought in this offseason to fix a kicking job that cratered for Atlanta in 2025, and early signs (a clean 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-for-4 on PATs in the preseason opener against Indianapolis) suggest he's simply the guy, not part of a real competition.
Role
Expect Folk to handle all field-goal and PAT duties as the unchallenged starting kicker; he's on a two-year deal specifically because Atlanta wanted a proven, accurate veteran after last year's kicking struggles, and there's no depth-chart battle being reported — he projects for every kick attempt the offense generates.
Optimists point to Folk's excellent accuracy the past two seasons (he converted nearly all of his field-goal tries with his prior team) and note that a clean, mistake-free preseason debut with a new team is exactly the kind of stability Atlanta paid for after a disastrous prior year of missed kicks.
Skeptics note he's 41-42 years old with obvious decline risk at some point, and that kicker fantasy value is almost entirely a function of the offense putting him in scoring range — if Atlanta's offense stalls in the red zone or leans on touchdowns over field goals, his attempt volume (and thus scoring) suffers regardless of his accuracy.
Where analysts split
There isn't a live debate here — no analyst coverage frames this as a real competition or questions his hold on the job; the only open question is simply how many scoring opportunities Atlanta's offense generates for him, which is a team-context issue rather than a Folk-specific disagreement.
Research confidence: thin. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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