The Atlanta Falcons shocked the NFL world in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft when they selected Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall.
Entering the draft, the Falcons were widely expected to take an edge rusher like Dallas Turner or Laiatu Latu or even trade down, but instead they took Penix, who was the fourth quarterback off the board.
It was a puzzling decision as Atlanta invested heavily in Kirk Cousins, who they signed to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency.
Cousins is coming off an Achilles injury, but is expected to be ready to start the beginning of the 2024 NFL season.
Penix is a solid prospect who had a strong pre-draft process, but his fit on the Falcons is murky at best.
However, Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot doubled down on the pick, via NFL on ESPN.
“We have our quarterback for now and we have our quarterback for the future.”
—Falcons GM Terry Fontenot on why the team decided to draft another QB after just signing Kirk Cousins ✍️ pic.twitter.com/SqFNdTsoxJ
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 27, 2024
Fontenot emphasized that the franchise is still excited about having Cousins as their starter, but also noted that they felt the need to shore up their quarterback room.
However, it’s truly hard to defend the Penix pick because of the team’s other needs on the roster coupled with the fact that Penix will be older once he presumably takes over Cousins.
If the Falcons were truly set on Penix, they likely could’ve traded down a couple of spots to pick up some additional draft compensation.
Atlanta’s team-building process makes sense on paper, but they could have gotten much more value with their first-round pick.
