ESPN/NFL
The Atlanta Falcons were responsible for the biggest shock of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night as they surprisingly selected University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the 8th overall pick.
The reason the Penix pick is so shocking is the Falcons just gave 36-year-old signal-caller Kirk Cousins a $100 million deal in the offseason, signaling that their assets are being allocated to winning right now.
Drafting Penix, however, is a pick for the future, says the Falcons front office.
According to The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini, the Falcons selected Penix out of the University of Washington with the 8th overall pick because “the team believes they won’t have a top pick with Cousins under center the next few years, and now is the time to get a great one.”
Why would Atlanta use their 8th pick in the draft on a QB?
The team believes they won’t have a top pick with Cousins under center the next few years, and now is the time to get a great one.— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 26, 2024
General manager Terry Fontenot also attempted to explain the decision when speaking to reporters after the draft:
“When you can add a high-caliber player like that with his intangibles, those tools — he’s a winner. Very, very excited. You don’t pass up that opportunity,” Fontenot said in a press conference following the first round of the draft on April 25.
“Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We’re very excited about Kirk, we’re very excited about our team. Michael Penix is, we’re talking about the future. The draft is — you look at the future and you look at big picture…. Kirk is our quarterback, but adding Michael Penix is thinking about the future.”
The pick was so surprising, in fact, that Cousins was also reportedly blindsided by the move and didn’t find out about the decision until the Falcons were on the clock.
Given that Cousins’ contract guarantees him $90 million over the next two seasons, barring injury or his skills falling off a cliff, Penix likely won’t see the field as the Falcons starting quarterback until 2026.
The drafting of Penix is strangely quite a full circle moment for Cousins, as he was famously drafted by the then-Washington Redskins the same year they selected Robert Griffin III with the #2 overall pick.