NFL GM Suggests Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Doesn’t Like The Michael Penix Jr. Pick Because He’s Old And Might Die Soon

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The Atlanta Falcons’ selection of University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was the biggest story of the NFL Draft this weekend, leading to tons of debate about the highly controversial pick.

According to The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini — piggybacking on a video of Mina Kimes ripping the pick on ESPN’s First Take a “majority” of the head coaches and general managers that she’s spoken to about the Penix Jr. pick have the same opinion as Kimes, which is that the selection doesn’t make any sense.

“I find the justification to be somewhat logically incoherent… if you think you’re going to be good, which is why you pay Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed, you’re doing your team a disservice by not making your team better so that you can compete now… it just doesn’t add up for the team or the player,” Kimes says in part.

Mina Kimes’ takedown of the Falcons’ selection of Michael Penix Jr: “I find the justification to be somewhat logically incoherent… if you think you’re going to be good, which is why you pay Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed, you’re doing your team a disservice by not making… https://t.co/okXqRbBXmR pic.twitter.com/h9J55MCYx3

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 26, 2024

Interestingly, Russini also noted that one general manager suggested that the pick is even more illogical given the age of Falcons owner Arthur Blank, saying he’s not concerned with what will happen with the franchise beyond 2026 because he wants to win now.

“Mr. Blank is how old? He wants to win now… he’s not obsessing over ‘26 and beyond. They have needs now,” an NFL general manager reportedly told Russini.

Given that it’s unlikely Blank would be selling the team before then, the anonymous GM’s logic that Blank doesn’t necessarily care about what happens to the Falcons in the coming years suggests it has more to do with his mortality than impatience.

Blank, 81 years old, purchased the Atlanta Falcons in 2002 from the son of team founder Rankin M. Smith for $545 million. The Falcons have a current estimated value of about $4 billion.