The quarterback that generated the most controversy was Michael Penix Jr. being selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick. This is the second consecutive year the Falcons shook up the first round, after selecting running back Bijan Robinson at 8 last year.
Robinson ran for 976 yards last season, which was 15th best league-wide, and tops among rookies. Penix gets to sit behind Kurt Cousins, who the Falcons just gave $100 million guaranteed to just a few weeks ago.
Cousins, 35, is coming off a torn Achilles in Week 8, and signed a 4-year/$180 million contract as the biggest free agent splash in the league. Cousins will be 36 by the start of the regular season, meaning the contract will mature when he reaches 40. The 2023 season marked the first since 2014 when Cousins did not play the entire campaign.
Penix will be 24 in May, and just came off a Heisman Trophy finalist year that saw his Washington Huskies lose to Michigan in the National Championship Game. Washington was ranked in the top 10 for the entire season, where Penix was a primary catalyst. Penix finished 25-3 as a starter for the Huskies, which helped him earn the 2023 Maxwell Award, and first-team All American honors.
There were rumors spreading that New England, Arizona, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the New York Jets could have moved out of their top 10 spots. Minnesota, Cousins’ former team, was rumored to move up to 5 (Chargers) to get a quarterback. Instead, the Chargers selected tackle Joe Alt from Notre Dame, where most experts had him going at 7 to Tennessee. The Jets moved one spot back to 11, and Minnesota came up to select J.J. McCarthy from Michigan.
Denver would close the run on quarterbacks at 12, selecting Bo Nix from Oregon, who instantly became the best quarterback in their room, without even having stepped foot inside their facility yet.
The reports surfaced later on Thursday that Cousins was not informed the Falcons were targeting a quarterback, as the first real speculation did not come until Atlanta was already on the clock. While Penix has battled his own share of injury history, he may have the best touch on the ball for any quarterback in the class. If the Falcons went with the best player available in 2023, they assuredly were thinking for the best security blanket for 2024.
Penix beat Nix twice in a span of six weeks, out dueling him both times. Most analysts had Penix as the last of the six quarterbacks that would be taken in the first round, with some even speculating he would fall to the second round. However, with Atlanta primed to challenge Tampa Bay for the NFC South championship, how could they not find the best option should Cousins not be available?
What happens when the guy you gave the keys to suddenly cannot drive? What happens when you find out the guy in the passenger seat is anticipated to be your long term solution, but may be better at the present than the one behind the wheel? This had to cross the minds of owner Arthur Blank, GM Terry Fontenot, and new head coach Raheem Morris.
Cousins is no different than what Green Bay did in drafting Jordan Love as the heir to Aaron Rodgers a few years ago, who was drafted to succeed Brett Favre. While any of the other five quarterbacks taken in Thursday’s first round are going to be the day one starter in training camp, Penix has to execute the same level of preparation, while knowing he may be sitting for an extended period.
While Arthur Smith used Robinson as anything other than a feature back for most of the year, you would hope he has a much shorter leash if Cousins is not at full capacity. Unlike what happened at the end of 2023 with Joe Flacco in Cleveland, Penix is the long term answer once the bloated contract has run its course.
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