Why Giants have confusing kicker depth chart with Jude McAtamney, Younghoe Koo, Graham Gano

Billy Heyen

Why Giants have confusing kicker depth chart with Jude McAtamney, Younghoe Koo, Graham Gano image

If Graham Gano was healthy, none of this confusion would exist. 

But the New York Giants' first-choice kicker is injured, and so the Giants now have an odd decision on their hands again.

At the start of the season, the Giants had Gano as their starting kicker, and on their practice squad, they had the strong-legged Jude McAtamney.

When Gano was hurt, the Giants signed Younghoe Koo. The long-time Atlanta Falcons kicker had just been cut, and so the Giants got him onto their practice squad, too.

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The general consensus was that the Giants wouldn't have signed Koo if he wasn't meant to be the replacement for Gano.

But then in Koo's first chance to be active for the Giants, he wasn't. McAtamney was.

For the first two weeks of Gano's absence, the Northern Irishman has been the starting kicker for the Giants.

He made two field goals and an extra point on Sept. 28, then both of his extra points with no field goal attempts on Oct. 5.

At this point, it seems McAtamney is ahead of Koo on the depth chart, but the Giants have held onto Koo, too.

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Koo was once a great kicker, but his last year-plus in Atlanta was rough, leading to his cut. Maybe he hasn't shown enough in practice to get the call ahead of McAtamney, who has been steady when called upon.

If Gano can get back from injury, this all might become irrelevant again.

But in the meantime, the Giants are approaching decision time. They can only promote McAtamney three times from the practice squad before having to sign him to the active roster. A promotion Thursday against the Eagles would mark his third time up. That would set up a decision for Week 7 if Gano still isn't back.

But that's a future Giants problem. For now, they want whoever is kicking for them to simply put the ball through the uprights.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle