The Atlanta Falcons are looking to squash their kicking woes for good this offseason. After what felt like an eternity of instability at kicker, the Falcons signed Nick Folk to be their short-term answer, but since he's entering his age-42 season, they need to find a younger option to eventually take the reins for a revamped special teams core.
By the looks of it, they're already doing their homework on kicker prospects. According to draft guru Ryan Fowler, the Falcons are one of several teams showing extensive interest in Houston kicker Ethan Sanchez, who was one of the most productive kickers in the nation for the Cougars last season.
Sanchez is one of the prospects who will reportedly be in attendance for Atlanta's local day, so this new regime will have a good chance to get a close look at him. So as someone who could spend the next season or two learning from Folk before taking over, taking a shot on him isn't the worst plan.
The Atlanta Falcons are looking at kickers Nick Folk can pass the baton to
Fowler also reported that the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, and San Francisco 49ers have been showing interest, with the Eagles conducting an hour-long call with him and meeting with him privately after Houston's Pro Day-- so the Dirty Birds have some competition for Sanchez.
As far as potential Folk replacements go, Sanchez is a pretty good one. The Old Dominion transfer drilled all 43 of his extra points and 21 of his 26 field goal attempts in his lone season with Houston, in which he was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award.
At 5-foot-9 and 189 pounds, he's pretty small to be an NFL kicker, especially compared to the 6-foot-1. 222-pound Folk, but his 77.8% field goal percentage makes him a worthy kicker to roll the dice on. The only problem is that the Falcons only have five draft picks, and using one on a kicker isn't ideal.
But assuming that Sanchez goes undrafted, making a run at him actually makes sense. It would not force Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski to use a draft pick on the position, and it'll still give him a chance to compete for a roster spot in training camp, while also learning a thing or two from Folk.
However, writing off Folk is a bit foolish, as he enjoyed an elite season in 2025 in which he only missed one field goal. The former Pro Bowler clearly still has some good football left in the tank, but it's not like he's gonna be Adam Vinatieri playing into his mid-to-late 40s. There's no shot that that happens.
The issue here is if he does well over the summer and still fails to make the roster, another team could snatch him off Atlanta's practice squad-- and it's not like rostering two kickers is worth it. But that's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it. There's no need to worry before Sanchez ever becomes a Falcon.
For now, it's a good sign this front office is thinking about life at kicker after Folk, especially since Craig Aukerman loves him.