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The Atlanta Falcons were the main story of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but not for reasons they’d hope or want.
With the #8 overall pick in the draft, the Falcons selected University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., which came as a shock to virtually everyone in the NFL world.
Even Falcons owner Arthur Blank was bewildered by the selection, as video from the Falcons’ draft “war room” seems to show general manager Terry Fontenot attempting to explain the pick.
This very much looks like Terry Fontenot trying to explain himself #Falcons #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/1vl7CgIrfV
— Cody Chaffins (@CodyChaffins) April 26, 2024
Cousins was similarly blindsided as reports indicate that not only did the Falcons tell him they’d be taking a quarterback later in the draft but he did not find out about the Penix pick until the Dirty Birds were officially on the clock.
The reason the Penix pick is so controversial is that the Falcons decided to give 35-year-old Kirk Cousins, who will turn 36 before the season starts, a 4-year, $100 million contract with $90 million guaranteed over the first two years, clearly signaling they’re in win-now mode.
While Fontenot tried to rationalize selecting Penix as being a pick for the future of the franchise, the Falcons’ previous offseason moves suggested they were allocating resources to winning right now.
There’s also the issue of Penix’s injury history, as he suffered four season injuries while at Indiana from 2018 to 2021: a torn right ACL in 2018, a dislocated right shoulder in 2019, a torn right ACL in 2020, and a separated left shoulder in 2021.
Penix was able to stay healthy this year, however, and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind winner Jayden Daniels.
The Falcons haven’t been entirely panned for the pick, however, as ESPN analysts suck as Dan Orlovsky and Dominique Foxworth argued the following day that they were able to understand the logic.
Given the scrutiny of the Penix Jr. pick, should the Falcons season not pan out how they hope (which is likely, at minimum, making the playoffs), Fontenot, who has been the team’s GM since 2021, will likely lose his job.