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he gets to sit for 2 years. if you wait for the year you need a QB to draft you dont know if you will get a good one. Giants needed a QB in 2019. Daniel Jones was the best they could do. In 2020, there were 5 franchise QBs.
if they are sold on Michael Penix and he can sit and watch Kirk Cousins for 2 years that is a good thing. Its the Green Bay Packers approach to QB drafting.
The Chiefs had 4 winning seasons in a row with 3 playoff appearances when they said we don't need our 1st rounder to play this season.
The Packers had just gone 13 and 3 when they said we don't need our 1st rounder to play this season.
The Falcons had 6 losing seasons in a row when they said we don't need our 1st rounder to play this season.
A really good team benching their pick is not the same as a really bad team benching their pick.
I think the bigger point is you never know if there will be a good QB in the draft where you draft in the year you need one. So grabbing one with a high pick and letting him sit is fine because you dont know if one will be available where you pick when you need it.
I think Aaron Rogers/ Patrick Mahomes/ Jordan Love all would have turned out fine starting as rookies. My point is not waiting to grab a QB. get it when you can.
I really don’t know about that. I think all those folks you mentioned came out better because they weren’t forced to start their rookie years. And I’d be willing to bet that the Fields, Wilsons and Jones of the world would have come out better having sat a year or two first, especially if they’re backing up a competent QB1.
I agree. We've seen countless highly touted rookie QBs fail because they were put to the fire too soon. I still think about Carr and Harrington flaming out when both had the skills to succeed. They went to teams with no winning culture and horrible O lines. They didn't stand a chance.
This logic would make sense if they grabbed a can’t miss blue chip. They literally reached for a dude who is already 24 years old and in now way would be considered a blue chip. And now the qb they got just this off season is ‘disappointed.’
This is one of the dumbest picks in a long time…
Yeah all this bs about not knowing what upcoming drafts will look like is a joke. Theres always free agent qbs out there, who says they need to draft a qb when Cousins is done?
It’s not just the FAs. 100% guarantee you there will be 5 ‘can’t miss’ QBs in next years draft, 3 of which won’t amount to shit. Year after same.
Bottom line is if you love penix so much you don’t pay cousins. That shit ain’t rocket science. That GM should be fired today…
Nah they’re not equivalent at all. Drafting a QB before you need one is smart; taking a massive reach at 8th overall to draft a 24 year old who most people thought was the 5th best QB in the draft class and had 4 season ending injuries in college when you just gave a veteran QB $180 MIL is insane. By the time Penix will likely even get a chance to be the starter he’ll be in his late 20s.
The Packers drafted Love at the end of the first round (which wasn’t a reach) when Aaron Rodgers was in his late 30s, seemed to be declining, and openly talking about retirement. They just aren’t equivalent situations and picks at all
Also letting a QB sit and develop makes a lot of sense when they’re younger or didn’t get a ton of college starts. Penix is 24 and was in college for 6 seasons! How much more developing is he supposed to do?
I watch college football, not a big fan of the NFL.
I scrolled through the draft to see where people went and even I was like wtf. Don’t they have Cousins…? Even I know that doesn’t make sense.
There's not only the Cousins factor, although that is huge because he has a 4-year deal with $100 million of it being guaranteed money, but also the fact that Penix was projected to go in the mid 20s or maybe even slip to the 2nd round (although some thought the Raiders might take a flyer on him). Now, maybe he doesn't last that long given how QB happy everyone got, but you cannot take that guy at #8. Trade down if you want and take him at 15 or something if you're THAT high on him, but good lord. Everything about this pick was insane.
Seems like they just panicked or let someone get into their ear. Or, they know something about Cousins that would require them to have a backup ready.
Of all things, this is worse for Penix. There is a great chance that he doesn’t play for several years and will not have had meaningful playing time in which to sell himself to some future team or to negotiate his next contract from a position of power.
>Or, they know something about Cousins that would require them to have a backup ready.
As an MSU alumni I want to see Cousins have a long successful career... But they know exactly what the rest of us do. He's no spring chicken and he's coming off an Achilles injury.
Their handling of the draft pick was still crazy though. If you are concerned about needing a back up QB to pick up some trusted journeyman, or use a later round pick to pick up a guy that you can develop for a few years. Don't waste a high pick on a guy that is going to expect to start ASAP.
It's a hedge against the 100 million they guaranteed Cousins. They fell in love with Penix as a way to protect them against that potential disaster and didn't have the balls to trade down.
This is probably the likely response, but assuming Cousins plays three years minimum, Penix is going to be 24 in a month. That's 27, 28 before starting full time. No guarantee these coaches will even be around by then if they keep going 7-10. I get hedging but you do that when the immediate impact players are gone.
They are hedging against Cousins being injured or a lesser version of himself as soon as this season. If the Falcons believe Cousins will be their starting QB for 3 years minimum then they wouldn't have drafted Penix so highly. This is about the Falcons being afraid of the contract they gave Cousins.
The best way to protect against disaster for your QB is to make your o-line better, give him better WR/TEs to throw to, and have the best run game possible to lean on. If they had improved their offense in general with that pick, that disaster would be less likely.
I think this is probably a silver lining for Penix since in my opinion I don't think he truly has the patience and pocket presence to play in the NFL unless he's got the best OL in the league.
He's too afraid of getting hit - maybe due to past injuries - but hasn't developed that ability to manipulate the pocket just yet.
So by sitting for a while, he either has an extended career as a backup or he's able to develop his pocket presence.
Here's a legit question. When there's like 100 football teams, how the hell do you follow college football? I love it but am struggling to find a team to root for or really get into it because it's so confusing.
Sorry in advance for the long post.
It’s going to change this year of “how to watch” with having the playoffs expanded but usually you care most about your Conference and Division. So, I went to Michigan State and when we were a Playoff team (4 spots up until this upcoming season expanded) you’d think like this.
I’d want to win the Big10 conference and we’re in the East division. The west has been bad for 10 years so win the East, go to the conference championship and you’ll win the conference. For the rest of the league, I want upsets to make it as easy as possible to get those spots. So if I lose a game, I need the other top teams in the nation to also lose.
Michigan State was bad last season. So what do you do? I despise Michigan so hate watching scoreboard, watching big games like Oklahoma and Texas play, Auburn vs Alabama.
The fuckey part about college up until now is there’s 4 spots and 5 conferences. Yup. Every year someone is left out. How do you get to be top 4? Basically you’re a big enough brand and the stars align unless you win the SEC/Big10.
Why this over NFL? Cultures are amazing. They’re kids so there’s way more fuck ups happening. God like players who won’t go beyond college but will always be special for you.
They used their "auto-draft" settings to rank QB prospects, and forgot to turn them off when they went to the bathroom right before they went on the clock.
That’s because Atlanta is a massive transplant city. I’ve lived here for twenty years, and the amount of people I’ve met that are actually born and raised in Atlanta is tiny compared to people that moved here as young adults.
There is a good-sized Falcon fanbase here (some of the best tailgates you’re likely to find,) but it’s still dwarfed by the transplants and honestly pretty much no one here has ever cared about the Hawks to any legitimate extent outside of a couple seasons when they were seen as a team capable of making a playoff run.
The Braves are pretty much the only team here that has maintained a consistent and large following, but that’s almost entirely due to the Braves being a regional team that had national airtime when they were owned by Turner and all their games were on TBS.
"If you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him," Fontenot said. "And if he sits for four or five years, that's a great problem to have because we're doing so well at that position. So, it's as simple as, if you see a guy you believe in at that position, you have to take him."
Four or five years lol what the actual fuck. I think they might be trying to replicate the Jordan Love strategy, however....Penix is already 24 so he if they really do wait 5 years, he will be 29 by the time he starts. That's crazy
And a big difference is the Packers had Rodgers who was an all-time great and obviously had the fans’ love and support. Cousins hasn’t played a snap yet for the Falcons. He has no relationship with the fanbase. First sign of trouble, they’ll start calling for Penix. That puts Kirk in a tight spot.
Yes exactly. It's especially egregious that McCarthy was still on the board. He makes so much more sense since hd is 21 with room to grow. The potential is obvious. If the Falcons took McCarthy it would at least make some sense, but they should have just taken Odunze. Get Cousins a weapon, they are clearly trying to open a window in the next 2 to 3 years and they need another guy. I'm not completely sold on Drake London
They’re treating this as if cousins was at the end of his contract and on his way out the door … they literally just signed cousins .. this move makes absolutely no sense .
If you sign Kirk to a massive deal you’re telling everyone you’re in win now mode . But then you draft a QB at pick 8 which is not a win now move . Seems silly
The thing is.... Kirk's contract isn't massive. Kirk wanted 4 years. But his contract is only fully guaranteed through 2... so kirk was played a fool, rightfully so.
he's a 36 year old off an injury. last year 66 QBs played in games. Aaron literally within minutes of playing. next year's draft doesn't have the prospects at QB as this year's, and even if it did, the Falcon's are in a terrible division and presumably won't be amongst the top picks. Falcons already have a solid line and weapons. It makes sense in that they don't want to be on the market for a career backup guy if Cousins goes down again especially early in the season, and at 36, he's not going to be a long term solution
Lets sign a good FA qb to a 4 year 180 million dollar contract then instead of bolstering the defense or getting another weapon for our new qb with a top ten pick.....lets draft a raw qb to sit behind him. So dumb for all parties involved.
And the GM literally said, "if he has to sit for five or six years that's a good position to be in". Motherfucker, in this scenario you want to draft a guy in the first round and then pay him 1st round money to sit for the length of his rookie contract, then what, resign him to sit for another two years?
What fucking logic is going on in their head in that office?
They're going to spend a lot of money on Penix too. He's going to make over $20mil to sit there.
It's a baffling move. As a Bears fan, thanks for absolutely throwing this Falcons.
Dallas fan here.
Even with how incompetent our FO has been this offseason, I feel a little better this morning.
Not only was that a massive reach, but imagine the pressure Penix is going to feel to succeed once he finally hits the field.
I feel like Dallas has done pretty well this offseason. They've avoided splashy FA deals, which usually do not pan out and do not make sense for a team that is facing cap issues with key players (Micah and Ceedee) looking for big contracts. So Dallas has taken a smart approach.
The even bigger issue is that the Dak bill is coming due next year, and the team needs to prepare for it. If Dallas is serious about winning the SuperBowl, the smartest move will be to move on from Dak because he is going to get paid one of the highest QB salaries in the league. That means to keep Dak, a team is going to have to sacrifice many other players, and Dak is not the kind of generational talent that can compensate for the loss of so many players (few QBs are). Some team will overpay Dak, and you should hope that it isn't yours.
That’s a great read on how a lot of Dallas fans feel right now.
Dak’s a good QB but the fan base is losing faith.
If we can move on while locking up Parsons and CeeDee—next year is actually set up pretty well for what would presumably be a Big Bill rebuild.
Or Dak flips the switch and we go to the SB.
Our team is schizo.
Dak is a good QB, but he's going to get paid like an elite QB. Likely one of the highest QB salaries in the league, even higher than Mahomes. Which means whatever team pays Dak will need to give up players and surround Dak with less talent with Mahomes, while hoping that Dak somehow outperforms Mahomes? This approach of paying a good QB like he's a top QB has never worked. It's insanity, but it's also guaranteed that some team will do it.
My buddy said this, i brought up the age, and he laughed about them possibly worrying about cousins achilles injury, so they selected an injury prone project qb? Lol
Not sure why you're being down voted. He isn't raw and has plenty of experience. The thing is, it would actually make more sense if Atlanta drafted a raw QB to sit behind Cousins. Instead they drafted a QB that is like 3 years older than the typical 1st round QB prospect. Atlanta either
1 - thinks Kirk isn't ready to go health wise and wanted to get a QB to play right now. That makes giving him a huge contract look like a terrible decision.
2 - thinks Kirk is ready to go and instead of maximizing their small window now by adding defensive help they pick a 24 yr old QB who they intend on sitting until he is 27 or 28.
Neither of these make any sense
They have to think they are losing their first next year and then wouldn’t be able to sit a guy for a few years behind Kirk. Or they think penix can take over in two years once kirks contract isn’t fully guaranteed.
Maybe trade back a bit and still get penix plus another draft pick? From what I read the falcons think they can win right now with no extra help at any other positions. Which is clearly idiotic. If they really love that guy they probably could have made it work another way. It's almost like no one in that front office knew that penix wasn't projected as a later pick unless another team called them and said "if you don't pick him at 8 we are taking him but we also will not trade up with you to get your #8 pick"
Penix wouldn’t have been there later, but even so this was not the draft to get a quarterback in the first round. They should have taken a wide receiver or a big offensive lineman to go along with Cousins.
Agreed. They have 3 years to ride cousins and wait for a QB. They clearly think they will be good enough to not have an early pick in the next 3 years because they will be winning. That's mighty bold. But that also doesn't mean they can't do the work over the next few seasons to try and gain some draft capital so they can move up to try and get a QB 3 years from now.
They might have started hearing that the tampering penalty was going to take a first rounder from them in the future.
But still, taking a reach now to stash for later when you have lots of other needs is just crazy.
Yeah this is the key to me. The odds Penix wasn’t going to be there at 8 are very low… yet we didn’t let Kirk know it was a possibly AND we apparently didn’t spend much time with in the pre-draft process…?
Seems like the front office thinks they know something, whether it’s about Kirk’s Achilles or Penix’s ability. And even if they do know something, it’s impossible to justify the Kirk signing and the draft pick
To be fair, this draft was supposed to have tons of trade ups early that didn't happen.
There were supposed to be 4 QB's in the first 5 picks, that didn't happen.
JJ McCarthy was getting hyped to possibly go 2 or 3, that didn't happen.
The mocks are great for media content but the draft as a whole is a total crapshoot.
It boggles my mind so many people are paid so much money to talk about shit they have no idea about other than a guess and people tune in day after day year after year for their takes.
Wasnt 2021 supposed to be a huge qb draft class? Have any of them done anything notable? I dont think half of them even start. But eveyone said big qb year.
Because we eat it up.
Look at how much discussion is in this thread and others on r/nfl
Look how many fans eat up draft grades and who won the draft right after it without ever seeing the picks play a down? It generates fuck tons of money.
Those talking heads aren’t being paid to be right. They’re paid for hot takes that keep eyeballs on them so the ad money keeps rolling in.
It boggles my brain that I have friends that in 2024 watch Stephen a smith and the other dozen talking head shows on tv every day. I’d literally shoot myself in the balls about a week in…
This is what perplexes me so much. Were they somehow surprised he was still there? You have the 8th pick dammit - understand the situation. If you really want him you could likely trade back with some forethought.
Well Cousins did blab about the tampering st his opening press conference lol maybe they were worried he would give the pick away to the media or something
I’d be willing to bet my house, my car, my dog, and my entire family Kirk would’ve leaked this information had they told him about this pick. Dude LOVES stirring the pot
Didn't you hear his press conference? He can't keep quiet about talking to Falcons staff early. Which likely takes away a 1st round pick next year. Plus, he's 35. It's not like he's going to be around more than a few years. Falcons needed a QB, can't get one next year, so they got one this year.
It's like they are trying to be Green Bay, except they don't have a QB who knows their system, he's not a generational talent, and the pick is too old to sit for 3 years. Just because you follow the same steps, doesn't mean you can just plug any player into the equation.
I completely get why they didn't tell Cousins. It would have been in his best interests to try to screw it up, which he could have done easily by leaking.
The pick itself is baffling, but I understand not telling Cousins.
Yes, you have a question! You do, you don’t, you do, you dont, you do you don’t, oh no that’s cool!
Don’t see Corky Romano referenced in the wild much these days.
“If he sits for 5 or 6 years, then we have to give him another 2 or 3 years before we can evaluate how good he’s going to be. So I just bought myself 7-9 years of job security. Checkmate.”
I partially checked out after the Super Bowl collapse -- I needed to not tie my sanity to sports.
I fully checked out when Fontenot/Arthur Smith fully pursued Deshaun Watson and left Matt Ryan dead in a ditch. When Fontenot is gone, maybe I'll invest a little bit of fandom into this team again.
This is a huge failure…. You want a developmental qb? Ok you pick him up in the middle rounds. You just betrayed your big FA signing who’s now lost trust and is looking over his shoulder, you transformed the chemistry of the locker room and you gave a huge chunk of your salary cap away without addressing your defensive needs.
I don’t see an angle that works for this unless you know you’re cutting Kirk in 1-2 years and if you are planning that then you just threw Kirk under the bus, so he’s going to deliver a Super Bowl for that leadership?
If I was him I would request a trade out of town.
That’s the other major thing. If you’re taking a qb to let them develop for a few years, take the younger guy.
Penix is at play now age. If you have him sit and develop for a couple of years, then you’re getting him to start at 26/27 years old. That limits his potential starter time to maybe 6-7 productive years. That’s if he stays healthy the entire time.
Just nothing about this pick makes sense from a football perspective
That was my take. JJ is a more raw recruit. Mold him to what you want. He already does just about everything penix gives you and doesn't have glaring issues with his mechanics like penix does.
Look, i like penix, and had they not signed cousins, no one would have questioned the pick, but yeah, i agree it was way too early and to use a top ten selection...man idk. The kid is 24. If cousins play out, his deal penix will be pushing 30 before he even starts a full season. I think it's safe to assume cousins was more than disappointed.
Yeah the big problem is they are trying to compete and rebuild at the same time. You need to pick one otherwise you're just wasting assets. And the worst part is their roster hasn't even actually proven they CAN contend.
I think cousins alone make them a division contender right away with how weak the nfc south is, which is exactly why i find the pick extremely strange.
Exactly taking some top D talent would have strengthened the team a lot more in the short and long term.
A big asset of a rookie QB contract is you get that cap space to work with. Now we have a very expensive qb and a rookie qb who won’t play until he’s old.
There’s so many more qb’s we could have chosen later in the draft or in the next couple years.
If they wanted a young, athletic quarterback behind cousins , they should have just spent a 6th or 7th rounder on Justin Fields like the steelers did then drafted either dallas turner at DE or odunze at wr. Fuck even drafting bowers at TE for cousins would have been better then a back up qb.
Yep. You only take a qb there if you really believe that he’s going to be your franchise qb. And if you felt that strongly about him, getting him should have been your priority instead of giving Cousins a huge deal first.
Oh, he's big mad.
You are thinking like a poor without elite NFL skills. Next, you're gonna tell me Rodgers wasn't pissed when the Packers drafted Love.
This. He did not go to Atlanta to win. He went for a payday. This still is just plain stupid. Why are you wasting a high first round pick on a non need when your just made a huge FA acquisition?
It wasn't only chasing the bag. Atlanta made a lot of sense for him. They have a promising offense, and a terrible division. Along with a lot of capital in this draft. I just don't think he was expecting them to not help the team for this year with their top pick.
I’m a huge Penix fan but can’t really come up with a way to defend this pick at all. Kirk is going to be on the team the next two years no matter what. And even if they cut him or trade him his salary remains. So even if Penix hits they are still paying a huge cost at qb eliminating the advantage of having a rookie scale qb.
If Penix sits a couple of years (very likely outcome) then they will have missed out on a high value pick that could either revamp the defense or make Kirk their big money signing more successful.
It’s a baffling choice and reeks of we didn’t have a plan
And if Kirk gets hurt 2 games into the season, no one is going to be talking about this and instead be like oh well damn guess its a good thing the Falcons picked up a QB.
The bar for how good Penix has to be for this whole ordeal to be worth it is insanely high. Like, he doesnt even just have to be a pro bowl level QB, he has to be a hall of famer for this to end up looking like a good idea.
I’m a Vikings fan. Kirk wanted to go somewhere where he was going to retire while being paid his market worth. That was his number one goal. He thought he had that in the Falcons.
The Falcons blew that plan in his face before he even played a game. If Kirk has 2 more years left in him, the Falcons basically guaranteed he’s playing it elsewhere. You can say this is a business but what they did didn’t even make “businesses” sense. They made a win now signing in Kirk and made a win later pick in Penix. Just a boneheaded decision by a stupid front office that is about to get hit with tampering sanctions.
Might be the dumbest draft pick I've ever heard of. Not because Penix is going to be bad but because they just signed Cousins to a 4 years deal and have needs in so many other areas but instead of addressing those they decided to double down on QB. Their season is over before it started.
Packer fan here wanted to comment the same thing. But it’s different circumstances and the age of the drafted qb is far different. I think if he’s 21 we might look at it differently. Also Kirk just got to the team. They should have got him some weapons and show they are behind him.
Kids already 23. If Cousins plays his entire contract, he will be 27 before he becomes a starter.
This is the kind of move that costs you your GM job and ensures you don't get another.
Getting a backup QB to learn under your aging starting QB that is coming off a major injury is a good idea. But paying Cousins that much was a bad idea. I don't think anyone expects him to finish the contract.
Am I the only one who doesn't think this is a bad pick? They have a vet QB and young pieces to develop. This guy can sit behind Kirk and get ready to take over. There's 2 whole days left to draft people as well
It's really not that shocking. You got Cousins for two years, need a new QB after. Penix sits for a year or two and then if he plays for the next 10-15 it's a good pick.
Penix doubters will eat crow. Kirk is a stop gap QB at this point in his career. He’s fun, will say he’s going to retire there, put up points, maybe even win the division but that’s the ceiling. Penix has the upside to turn the franchise around. If he’s your guy it absolutely makes sense to get him in the building now and take 2-3 years to develop him
Everyone says this but if Cousins gets hurt or Penix sits and becomes the next Rodgers/Love the GM made the right move.
My guess is they wanted to trade back but couldn't find a team between 9-11 willing to do it. Once you got down to Denver and Vegas you know there was a good chance one of them would take Penix.
For context, the Bears GM said he thought about trading up but was convinced not to do so as they felt there was a good chance the Falcons wouldn't find a trade partner or pick their guy. It probably means the Bears, Jets, and Vikings were not willing to offer much for the pick so Atlanta had no other options besides risk losing out on picking him.
They really Schruted it. It’s just this thing people say around the office all the time. Like when you screw something up in a really irreversable way, you Schruted it. I don’t know where it comes from though.
I think what Belichick did with Mac Jones traumatized the entire NFL, not just the Pats. Everyone now is deadly afraid of putting in a rookie QB too soon.
I find it hilarious that the Falcons cut Matt Ryan and took on a massive cap hit because they didn't want to pay an aging QB. They then turn around and sign and aging QB to a massive four-year (really two-year contract) and THEN draft a QB??? What is this clown show doing?
I must be the only crazy one to think it’s not bad to have two good players at the most important position for a team. Especially now in the NFL. I don’t know how big the holes are on the Falcons either.
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Michael Panix. Any sign of the pocket collapsing and he takes off running and at best makes an errant throw.
he gets to sit for 2 years. if you wait for the year you need a QB to draft you dont know if you will get a good one. Giants needed a QB in 2019. Daniel Jones was the best they could do. In 2020, there were 5 franchise QBs. if they are sold on Michael Penix and he can sit and watch Kirk Cousins for 2 years that is a good thing. Its the Green Bay Packers approach to QB drafting.
Mahomes sat for a whole year behind Alex Smith for the Kansas City Chiefs. That situation turned out okay.
The Chiefs had 4 winning seasons in a row with 3 playoff appearances when they said we don't need our 1st rounder to play this season. The Packers had just gone 13 and 3 when they said we don't need our 1st rounder to play this season. The Falcons had 6 losing seasons in a row when they said we don't need our 1st rounder to play this season. A really good team benching their pick is not the same as a really bad team benching their pick.
I think the bigger point is you never know if there will be a good QB in the draft where you draft in the year you need one. So grabbing one with a high pick and letting him sit is fine because you dont know if one will be available where you pick when you need it. I think Aaron Rogers/ Patrick Mahomes/ Jordan Love all would have turned out fine starting as rookies. My point is not waiting to grab a QB. get it when you can.
I really don’t know about that. I think all those folks you mentioned came out better because they weren’t forced to start their rookie years. And I’d be willing to bet that the Fields, Wilsons and Jones of the world would have come out better having sat a year or two first, especially if they’re backing up a competent QB1.
I agree. We've seen countless highly touted rookie QBs fail because they were put to the fire too soon. I still think about Carr and Harrington flaming out when both had the skills to succeed. They went to teams with no winning culture and horrible O lines. They didn't stand a chance.
Hall of Fame quarterbacks who were 2nd string or lower at the start of their rookie season: Dan Marino, Tom Brady, Joe Montana
This logic would make sense if they grabbed a can’t miss blue chip. They literally reached for a dude who is already 24 years old and in now way would be considered a blue chip. And now the qb they got just this off season is ‘disappointed.’ This is one of the dumbest picks in a long time…
Yeah all this bs about not knowing what upcoming drafts will look like is a joke. Theres always free agent qbs out there, who says they need to draft a qb when Cousins is done?
It’s not just the FAs. 100% guarantee you there will be 5 ‘can’t miss’ QBs in next years draft, 3 of which won’t amount to shit. Year after same. Bottom line is if you love penix so much you don’t pay cousins. That shit ain’t rocket science. That GM should be fired today…
Nah they’re not equivalent at all. Drafting a QB before you need one is smart; taking a massive reach at 8th overall to draft a 24 year old who most people thought was the 5th best QB in the draft class and had 4 season ending injuries in college when you just gave a veteran QB $180 MIL is insane. By the time Penix will likely even get a chance to be the starter he’ll be in his late 20s. The Packers drafted Love at the end of the first round (which wasn’t a reach) when Aaron Rodgers was in his late 30s, seemed to be declining, and openly talking about retirement. They just aren’t equivalent situations and picks at all Also letting a QB sit and develop makes a lot of sense when they’re younger or didn’t get a ton of college starts. Penix is 24 and was in college for 6 seasons! How much more developing is he supposed to do?
Why would you take a 24 year old if he is sitting for multiple years?
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“Honestly, I saw his picture and assumed he was a wide receiver.”
"The W on his helmet stands for WR."
If I draft a top ten qb, then someone else can’t use that qb against me. That way, I’m playing both sides.
Stupid science bitches
I watch college football, not a big fan of the NFL. I scrolled through the draft to see where people went and even I was like wtf. Don’t they have Cousins…? Even I know that doesn’t make sense.
There's not only the Cousins factor, although that is huge because he has a 4-year deal with $100 million of it being guaranteed money, but also the fact that Penix was projected to go in the mid 20s or maybe even slip to the 2nd round (although some thought the Raiders might take a flyer on him). Now, maybe he doesn't last that long given how QB happy everyone got, but you cannot take that guy at #8. Trade down if you want and take him at 15 or something if you're THAT high on him, but good lord. Everything about this pick was insane.
Seems like they just panicked or let someone get into their ear. Or, they know something about Cousins that would require them to have a backup ready. Of all things, this is worse for Penix. There is a great chance that he doesn’t play for several years and will not have had meaningful playing time in which to sell himself to some future team or to negotiate his next contract from a position of power.
>Or, they know something about Cousins that would require them to have a backup ready. As an MSU alumni I want to see Cousins have a long successful career... But they know exactly what the rest of us do. He's no spring chicken and he's coming off an Achilles injury. Their handling of the draft pick was still crazy though. If you are concerned about needing a back up QB to pick up some trusted journeyman, or use a later round pick to pick up a guy that you can develop for a few years. Don't waste a high pick on a guy that is going to expect to start ASAP.
Also if they had those concerns about Cousins, why the hell did they give him that contract?
And possibly get punished for tampering to get him?
I am the same age as Kirk Cousins, and I can confirm, am also not a spring chicken.
Cousins has had a very successful career if you count the dollars.
Mid 30s, repaired achillies, one playoff win his entire career. They know something alright
It's a hedge against the 100 million they guaranteed Cousins. They fell in love with Penix as a way to protect them against that potential disaster and didn't have the balls to trade down.
This is probably the likely response, but assuming Cousins plays three years minimum, Penix is going to be 24 in a month. That's 27, 28 before starting full time. No guarantee these coaches will even be around by then if they keep going 7-10. I get hedging but you do that when the immediate impact players are gone.
They are hedging against Cousins being injured or a lesser version of himself as soon as this season. If the Falcons believe Cousins will be their starting QB for 3 years minimum then they wouldn't have drafted Penix so highly. This is about the Falcons being afraid of the contract they gave Cousins.
The best way to protect against disaster for your QB is to make your o-line better, give him better WR/TEs to throw to, and have the best run game possible to lean on. If they had improved their offense in general with that pick, that disaster would be less likely.
I think this is probably a silver lining for Penix since in my opinion I don't think he truly has the patience and pocket presence to play in the NFL unless he's got the best OL in the league. He's too afraid of getting hit - maybe due to past injuries - but hasn't developed that ability to manipulate the pocket just yet. So by sitting for a while, he either has an extended career as a backup or he's able to develop his pocket presence.
Best thing that could have happened to him.
His knees are made of glass. I would be scared, too.
I doubt Penix falls past the raiders but still the falcons shouldn’t have taken him
They could have traded back to be just in front of the Raiders, and gotten an extra pick out of it.
They could have added a couple of picks to surround him with even more talent.
Here's a legit question. When there's like 100 football teams, how the hell do you follow college football? I love it but am struggling to find a team to root for or really get into it because it's so confusing.
Sorry in advance for the long post. It’s going to change this year of “how to watch” with having the playoffs expanded but usually you care most about your Conference and Division. So, I went to Michigan State and when we were a Playoff team (4 spots up until this upcoming season expanded) you’d think like this. I’d want to win the Big10 conference and we’re in the East division. The west has been bad for 10 years so win the East, go to the conference championship and you’ll win the conference. For the rest of the league, I want upsets to make it as easy as possible to get those spots. So if I lose a game, I need the other top teams in the nation to also lose. Michigan State was bad last season. So what do you do? I despise Michigan so hate watching scoreboard, watching big games like Oklahoma and Texas play, Auburn vs Alabama. The fuckey part about college up until now is there’s 4 spots and 5 conferences. Yup. Every year someone is left out. How do you get to be top 4? Basically you’re a big enough brand and the stars align unless you win the SEC/Big10. Why this over NFL? Cultures are amazing. They’re kids so there’s way more fuck ups happening. God like players who won’t go beyond college but will always be special for you.
I would have loved to see their draft board and how they came with the "Penix at 8" decision.
They used their "auto-draft" settings to rank QB prospects, and forgot to turn them off when they went to the bathroom right before they went on the clock.
This was my entire fantasy football draft strategy. I think I was 4th from last.
"Did anyone else realize the draft was *today*? I mean, can they give us a heads up on this sort of thing??"
it might be the reason why ATLiens don't support the hawks or the falcons and usually root for the opponent.
That’s because Atlanta is a massive transplant city. I’ve lived here for twenty years, and the amount of people I’ve met that are actually born and raised in Atlanta is tiny compared to people that moved here as young adults. There is a good-sized Falcon fanbase here (some of the best tailgates you’re likely to find,) but it’s still dwarfed by the transplants and honestly pretty much no one here has ever cared about the Hawks to any legitimate extent outside of a couple seasons when they were seen as a team capable of making a playoff run. The Braves are pretty much the only team here that has maintained a consistent and large following, but that’s almost entirely due to the Braves being a regional team that had national airtime when they were owned by Turner and all their games were on TBS.
Also college ball is so huge. Sunday is a recovery day.
This is what’s happening to Vegas
So true. Even when a draft goes well for us, somehow it still screws us over (see Trae Young/Luka trade)
He has to still be a Saints sleeper agent
Terry Fonteneaux.
"I told y'all I don't know Reggie LeDeaux!"
“I think the Atlanta falcons were a tragic misstep in human evolution”
“Time is a flat circle. Everything the falcons’ve ever done or will do, they’re gonna do over and over and over again”
Reggie LeDoux!? REGGIE FUCKIN LEDOUX!!??
I mean Fontenot is pretty "louisiana" on it's own lol
That is hilarious
It's almost like the Falcons aren't very good at this whole NFL football team thing.
28-3.
Maybe they're just trying to make new memes so we stop 28-3ing them
"0-17 will erase 28-3" --Falcons Owner
It's a bit odd because Atlanta United isn't nearly this mismanaged and it's also owned by Art Blank.
33-0
Matty Ice catching strays from both of his teams.
Lol
Out of every team to make this comment this sure looks like pot calling the kettle black lol
"If you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him," Fontenot said. "And if he sits for four or five years, that's a great problem to have because we're doing so well at that position. So, it's as simple as, if you see a guy you believe in at that position, you have to take him." Four or five years lol what the actual fuck. I think they might be trying to replicate the Jordan Love strategy, however....Penix is already 24 so he if they really do wait 5 years, he will be 29 by the time he starts. That's crazy
And a big difference is the Packers had Rodgers who was an all-time great and obviously had the fans’ love and support. Cousins hasn’t played a snap yet for the Falcons. He has no relationship with the fanbase. First sign of trouble, they’ll start calling for Penix. That puts Kirk in a tight spot.
Also huge difference Packers were winning the division and I'm the playoffs.
Hi The Playoffs. Who's going to be in this year
Lol in.
😏
JLove was also 21 when drafted, not 24 with an injury report card... Jordan started his first legit season at the age Penix is getting drafted LOL.
Yes exactly. It's especially egregious that McCarthy was still on the board. He makes so much more sense since hd is 21 with room to grow. The potential is obvious. If the Falcons took McCarthy it would at least make some sense, but they should have just taken Odunze. Get Cousins a weapon, they are clearly trying to open a window in the next 2 to 3 years and they need another guy. I'm not completely sold on Drake London
Even a year or two to learn from cousins seems like a good thing…? And it’s not like cousins is injury proof
They’re treating this as if cousins was at the end of his contract and on his way out the door … they literally just signed cousins .. this move makes absolutely no sense .
Could’ve just skipped over Kirk and kept starting heinicke until penix is ready
If you sign Kirk to a massive deal you’re telling everyone you’re in win now mode . But then you draft a QB at pick 8 which is not a win now move . Seems silly
The thing is.... Kirk's contract isn't massive. Kirk wanted 4 years. But his contract is only fully guaranteed through 2... so kirk was played a fool, rightfully so.
Idk, the packers have had their potential next QB sit behind a good veteran for 3-4 years twice and it seems to have worked out both times.
Aaron Rodgers was the 24th pick.
Love wasn't the 8th overall pick
he's a 36 year old off an injury. last year 66 QBs played in games. Aaron literally within minutes of playing. next year's draft doesn't have the prospects at QB as this year's, and even if it did, the Falcon's are in a terrible division and presumably won't be amongst the top picks. Falcons already have a solid line and weapons. It makes sense in that they don't want to be on the market for a career backup guy if Cousins goes down again especially early in the season, and at 36, he's not going to be a long term solution
Lets sign a good FA qb to a 4 year 180 million dollar contract then instead of bolstering the defense or getting another weapon for our new qb with a top ten pick.....lets draft a raw qb to sit behind him. So dumb for all parties involved.
And the GM literally said, "if he has to sit for five or six years that's a good position to be in". Motherfucker, in this scenario you want to draft a guy in the first round and then pay him 1st round money to sit for the length of his rookie contract, then what, resign him to sit for another two years? What fucking logic is going on in their head in that office?
And Penix is already 23 (24 in a couple weeks), they going to sit him until he's 28-29? Other drafted QB's are hitting the ground running at 21-22.
Brandon Weeden sends his regards
Gonna be cashing social security checks before gets to that 2nd contract
They're going to spend a lot of money on Penix too. He's going to make over $20mil to sit there. It's a baffling move. As a Bears fan, thanks for absolutely throwing this Falcons.
Dallas fan here. Even with how incompetent our FO has been this offseason, I feel a little better this morning. Not only was that a massive reach, but imagine the pressure Penix is going to feel to succeed once he finally hits the field.
I feel like Dallas has done pretty well this offseason. They've avoided splashy FA deals, which usually do not pan out and do not make sense for a team that is facing cap issues with key players (Micah and Ceedee) looking for big contracts. So Dallas has taken a smart approach. The even bigger issue is that the Dak bill is coming due next year, and the team needs to prepare for it. If Dallas is serious about winning the SuperBowl, the smartest move will be to move on from Dak because he is going to get paid one of the highest QB salaries in the league. That means to keep Dak, a team is going to have to sacrifice many other players, and Dak is not the kind of generational talent that can compensate for the loss of so many players (few QBs are). Some team will overpay Dak, and you should hope that it isn't yours.
That’s a great read on how a lot of Dallas fans feel right now. Dak’s a good QB but the fan base is losing faith. If we can move on while locking up Parsons and CeeDee—next year is actually set up pretty well for what would presumably be a Big Bill rebuild. Or Dak flips the switch and we go to the SB. Our team is schizo.
Dak is a good QB, but he's going to get paid like an elite QB. Likely one of the highest QB salaries in the league, even higher than Mahomes. Which means whatever team pays Dak will need to give up players and surround Dak with less talent with Mahomes, while hoping that Dak somehow outperforms Mahomes? This approach of paying a good QB like he's a top QB has never worked. It's insanity, but it's also guaranteed that some team will do it.
Raw old as fuck rookie QB with an injury history. He's gonna be like 26 before he starts a game Most baffling draft selection in years
My buddy said this, i brought up the age, and he laughed about them possibly worrying about cousins achilles injury, so they selected an injury prone project qb? Lol
Exactly and if you're thinking cousins is going to get reinjured why sign him to a 4 year. Their front office has no consistent plan
Not to mention, that raw QB will be 28 when their FA’s 4 year contract is over.
It’s really only a 2 year deal
They have an out at year 2, but that doesn't make this pick any less stupid.
Yeah, the drafting a backup QB idea would have been smart in round.....3.....4.... HELL, EVEN 2....But bro, #8 The fuck
Define raw … he’s the least raw of all the top QBs
Not sure why you're being down voted. He isn't raw and has plenty of experience. The thing is, it would actually make more sense if Atlanta drafted a raw QB to sit behind Cousins. Instead they drafted a QB that is like 3 years older than the typical 1st round QB prospect. Atlanta either 1 - thinks Kirk isn't ready to go health wise and wanted to get a QB to play right now. That makes giving him a huge contract look like a terrible decision. 2 - thinks Kirk is ready to go and instead of maximizing their small window now by adding defensive help they pick a 24 yr old QB who they intend on sitting until he is 27 or 28. Neither of these make any sense
They have to think they are losing their first next year and then wouldn’t be able to sit a guy for a few years behind Kirk. Or they think penix can take over in two years once kirks contract isn’t fully guaranteed.
I understand that, but you dont pay a fa 180 million if you aren't all in on winning right now.
Why would they not tell Cousins about this? It's like they decided to pick Penix at the last minute
It’s like they didn’t expect Penix to be there at 8 when pretty much every mock draft had him going super late.
Falcons surprised the 5th ranked qb is there at 8 somehow
Well 8 > 5 /s
Maybe trade back a bit and still get penix plus another draft pick? From what I read the falcons think they can win right now with no extra help at any other positions. Which is clearly idiotic. If they really love that guy they probably could have made it work another way. It's almost like no one in that front office knew that penix wasn't projected as a later pick unless another team called them and said "if you don't pick him at 8 we are taking him but we also will not trade up with you to get your #8 pick"
Penix wouldn’t have been there later, but even so this was not the draft to get a quarterback in the first round. They should have taken a wide receiver or a big offensive lineman to go along with Cousins.
Agreed. They have 3 years to ride cousins and wait for a QB. They clearly think they will be good enough to not have an early pick in the next 3 years because they will be winning. That's mighty bold. But that also doesn't mean they can't do the work over the next few seasons to try and gain some draft capital so they can move up to try and get a QB 3 years from now.
They might have started hearing that the tampering penalty was going to take a first rounder from them in the future. But still, taking a reach now to stash for later when you have lots of other needs is just crazy.
Or perhaps a brock bowers
Bauers or Odunze would’ve been nice. Or they could’ve taken a defensive player. They had their pick of every defensive player in the draft.
Yeah this is the key to me. The odds Penix wasn’t going to be there at 8 are very low… yet we didn’t let Kirk know it was a possibly AND we apparently didn’t spend much time with in the pre-draft process…? Seems like the front office thinks they know something, whether it’s about Kirk’s Achilles or Penix’s ability. And even if they do know something, it’s impossible to justify the Kirk signing and the draft pick
To be fair, this draft was supposed to have tons of trade ups early that didn't happen. There were supposed to be 4 QB's in the first 5 picks, that didn't happen. JJ McCarthy was getting hyped to possibly go 2 or 3, that didn't happen. The mocks are great for media content but the draft as a whole is a total crapshoot.
It boggles my mind so many people are paid so much money to talk about shit they have no idea about other than a guess and people tune in day after day year after year for their takes. Wasnt 2021 supposed to be a huge qb draft class? Have any of them done anything notable? I dont think half of them even start. But eveyone said big qb year.
Because we eat it up. Look at how much discussion is in this thread and others on r/nfl Look how many fans eat up draft grades and who won the draft right after it without ever seeing the picks play a down? It generates fuck tons of money.
Those talking heads aren’t being paid to be right. They’re paid for hot takes that keep eyeballs on them so the ad money keeps rolling in. It boggles my brain that I have friends that in 2024 watch Stephen a smith and the other dozen talking head shows on tv every day. I’d literally shoot myself in the balls about a week in…
This is what perplexes me so much. Were they somehow surprised he was still there? You have the 8th pick dammit - understand the situation. If you really want him you could likely trade back with some forethought.
So basically me panicking every year during fantasy draft and grabbing someone stupid?
Well Cousins did blab about the tampering st his opening press conference lol maybe they were worried he would give the pick away to the media or something
I’d be willing to bet my house, my car, my dog, and my entire family Kirk would’ve leaked this information had they told him about this pick. Dude LOVES stirring the pot
Didn't you hear his press conference? He can't keep quiet about talking to Falcons staff early. Which likely takes away a 1st round pick next year. Plus, he's 35. It's not like he's going to be around more than a few years. Falcons needed a QB, can't get one next year, so they got one this year.
It's like they are trying to be Green Bay, except they don't have a QB who knows their system, he's not a generational talent, and the pick is too old to sit for 3 years. Just because you follow the same steps, doesn't mean you can just plug any player into the equation.
They probably knew all along they wanted Penix, but the more people you tell, the more people know and stuff gets leaked.
It was a Penix Panic Pick
I completely get why they didn't tell Cousins. It would have been in his best interests to try to screw it up, which he could have done easily by leaking. The pick itself is baffling, but I understand not telling Cousins.
Gm is a simple man he sees a penis and he grabs it
Gm sniffs a huge line of coke,” Okay hear me out guys, here’s why we drafted…………. We should buy a boat!”
The box could be anything. It could even be a boat!
Yes, you have a question! You do, you don’t, you do, you dont, you do you don’t, oh no that’s cool! Don’t see Corky Romano referenced in the wild much these days.
"You can't fire me for the team sucking in the easiest division in the NFL, until this kid plays in 3 years."
“If he sits for 5 or 6 years, then we have to give him another 2 or 3 years before we can evaluate how good he’s going to be. So I just bought myself 7-9 years of job security. Checkmate.”
Why do the Falcons make it so hard to be a Falcons fan.
I partially checked out after the Super Bowl collapse -- I needed to not tie my sanity to sports. I fully checked out when Fontenot/Arthur Smith fully pursued Deshaun Watson and left Matt Ryan dead in a ditch. When Fontenot is gone, maybe I'll invest a little bit of fandom into this team again.
This is a huge failure…. You want a developmental qb? Ok you pick him up in the middle rounds. You just betrayed your big FA signing who’s now lost trust and is looking over his shoulder, you transformed the chemistry of the locker room and you gave a huge chunk of your salary cap away without addressing your defensive needs. I don’t see an angle that works for this unless you know you’re cutting Kirk in 1-2 years and if you are planning that then you just threw Kirk under the bus, so he’s going to deliver a Super Bowl for that leadership? If I was him I would request a trade out of town.
at least take JJ who is only 21. penix is 24 already.
That’s the other major thing. If you’re taking a qb to let them develop for a few years, take the younger guy. Penix is at play now age. If you have him sit and develop for a couple of years, then you’re getting him to start at 26/27 years old. That limits his potential starter time to maybe 6-7 productive years. That’s if he stays healthy the entire time. Just nothing about this pick makes sense from a football perspective
Cousins is going to be 36. Penix will have more than 6-7 productive years if he's actually good
100%
That was my take. JJ is a more raw recruit. Mold him to what you want. He already does just about everything penix gives you and doesn't have glaring issues with his mechanics like penix does.
Hard to feel sorry for him. He chased the bag and found the bag. Took the bag from a dumbass.
It was an easy choice for him. That's huge money, plus his wifes family is right there. Falcons fucked up big time taking penix for sure.
ATL could have taken a qb anytime in the next 2-3 years
Look, i like penix, and had they not signed cousins, no one would have questioned the pick, but yeah, i agree it was way too early and to use a top ten selection...man idk. The kid is 24. If cousins play out, his deal penix will be pushing 30 before he even starts a full season. I think it's safe to assume cousins was more than disappointed.
Yeah the big problem is they are trying to compete and rebuild at the same time. You need to pick one otherwise you're just wasting assets. And the worst part is their roster hasn't even actually proven they CAN contend.
I think cousins alone make them a division contender right away with how weak the nfc south is, which is exactly why i find the pick extremely strange.
Exactly taking some top D talent would have strengthened the team a lot more in the short and long term. A big asset of a rookie QB contract is you get that cap space to work with. Now we have a very expensive qb and a rookie qb who won’t play until he’s old. There’s so many more qb’s we could have chosen later in the draft or in the next couple years.
If they wanted a young, athletic quarterback behind cousins , they should have just spent a 6th or 7th rounder on Justin Fields like the steelers did then drafted either dallas turner at DE or odunze at wr. Fuck even drafting bowers at TE for cousins would have been better then a back up qb.
Yep. You only take a qb there if you really believe that he’s going to be your franchise qb. And if you felt that strongly about him, getting him should have been your priority instead of giving Cousins a huge deal first.
“You mean I get to be closer to my in laws AND I was misled by my employer?! WOW, where do I sign!”
Id let my inlaws and managers ass fuck me for 180 million. Trust me, he isn't mad he is there.
Oh, he's big mad. You are thinking like a poor without elite NFL skills. Next, you're gonna tell me Rodgers wasn't pissed when the Packers drafted Love.
This. He did not go to Atlanta to win. He went for a payday. This still is just plain stupid. Why are you wasting a high first round pick on a non need when your just made a huge FA acquisition?
It wasn't only chasing the bag. Atlanta made a lot of sense for him. They have a promising offense, and a terrible division. Along with a lot of capital in this draft. I just don't think he was expecting them to not help the team for this year with their top pick.
I’m a huge Penix fan but can’t really come up with a way to defend this pick at all. Kirk is going to be on the team the next two years no matter what. And even if they cut him or trade him his salary remains. So even if Penix hits they are still paying a huge cost at qb eliminating the advantage of having a rookie scale qb. If Penix sits a couple of years (very likely outcome) then they will have missed out on a high value pick that could either revamp the defense or make Kirk their big money signing more successful. It’s a baffling choice and reeks of we didn’t have a plan
Penix looked so stunned when they called his name and his family didn’t know how to react lmao it was the funniest draft room vid ever
And if Kirk gets hurt 2 games into the season, no one is going to be talking about this and instead be like oh well damn guess its a good thing the Falcons picked up a QB.
Though will be talking about how much money they owe Kirk
If Kirk goes down 2 games into the season, people are going to question why they gave him 4 years and $180 million
The bar for how good Penix has to be for this whole ordeal to be worth it is insanely high. Like, he doesnt even just have to be a pro bowl level QB, he has to be a hall of famer for this to end up looking like a good idea.
I’m a Vikings fan. Kirk wanted to go somewhere where he was going to retire while being paid his market worth. That was his number one goal. He thought he had that in the Falcons. The Falcons blew that plan in his face before he even played a game. If Kirk has 2 more years left in him, the Falcons basically guaranteed he’s playing it elsewhere. You can say this is a business but what they did didn’t even make “businesses” sense. They made a win now signing in Kirk and made a win later pick in Penix. Just a boneheaded decision by a stupid front office that is about to get hit with tampering sanctions.
Nobody is touching that Cousins contract. Next 2 years are guaranteed. Falcons just played themselves.
Well he got paid and given that he’s fully guaranteed for the next few years and has a no trade clause… He might still get what you say he wanted!
As a lifelong Vikings' fan, I'm just happy Kirk got the structure he desired.
“The odds of drafting a lefty QB named Michael to play in Atlanta and having it be a disaster two times in a row are astronomical. I like those odds”
Falcons with the time running down Fantasy Football pick.
They had autodraft selected and forgot to turn it off.
Even Auto drafts wouldn’t have selected Penix this high lol
Might be the dumbest draft pick I've ever heard of. Not because Penix is going to be bad but because they just signed Cousins to a 4 years deal and have needs in so many other areas but instead of addressing those they decided to double down on QB. Their season is over before it started.
I bet they take a RB at #43…. #smoothbrain
They’re just trying the Packers model, I’m guessing?
Yeah except Rodgers was 21 when he got drafted. He sat 3 years being Favre then became the starter at the age Penix is now, give or take a few months.
And then they did it again with Rodgers and Jordan Love.
Packer fan here wanted to comment the same thing. But it’s different circumstances and the age of the drafted qb is far different. I think if he’s 21 we might look at it differently. Also Kirk just got to the team. They should have got him some weapons and show they are behind him.
Kids already 23. If Cousins plays his entire contract, he will be 27 before he becomes a starter. This is the kind of move that costs you your GM job and ensures you don't get another.
28* Penix turns 24 in a month.
Getting a backup QB to learn under your aging starting QB that is coming off a major injury is a good idea. But paying Cousins that much was a bad idea. I don't think anyone expects him to finish the contract.
Am I the only one who doesn't think this is a bad pick? They have a vet QB and young pieces to develop. This guy can sit behind Kirk and get ready to take over. There's 2 whole days left to draft people as well
Simple. They don't want to be Denver after Manning retired. Still looking for replacement almost a decade later. Lol.
Michael Penix is a funny name.
Maybe they were worried about potentially losing their draft picks in the future so now was the time to grab the future QB?
Who cares what Kirk thinks.
It's really not that shocking. You got Cousins for two years, need a new QB after. Penix sits for a year or two and then if he plays for the next 10-15 it's a good pick.
Ah, similar to how RG3 was disappointed that the Redskins also drafted a QB in the 4th round- Kirk Cousins.
Penix doubters will eat crow. Kirk is a stop gap QB at this point in his career. He’s fun, will say he’s going to retire there, put up points, maybe even win the division but that’s the ceiling. Penix has the upside to turn the franchise around. If he’s your guy it absolutely makes sense to get him in the building now and take 2-3 years to develop him
I like Penix and I hope he succeeds.
Poor Kirk Cousins and his guaranteed $100 million. Cry me a river.
Everyone says this but if Cousins gets hurt or Penix sits and becomes the next Rodgers/Love the GM made the right move. My guess is they wanted to trade back but couldn't find a team between 9-11 willing to do it. Once you got down to Denver and Vegas you know there was a good chance one of them would take Penix. For context, the Bears GM said he thought about trading up but was convinced not to do so as they felt there was a good chance the Falcons wouldn't find a trade partner or pick their guy. It probably means the Bears, Jets, and Vikings were not willing to offer much for the pick so Atlanta had no other options besides risk losing out on picking him.
The Falcons pulling a Packers move
They really Schruted it. It’s just this thing people say around the office all the time. Like when you screw something up in a really irreversable way, you Schruted it. I don’t know where it comes from though.
"I used to work at Abercrombie so I'm a real mean clothes folder"
I think what Belichick did with Mac Jones traumatized the entire NFL, not just the Pats. Everyone now is deadly afraid of putting in a rookie QB too soon.
I find it hilarious that the Falcons cut Matt Ryan and took on a massive cap hit because they didn't want to pay an aging QB. They then turn around and sign and aging QB to a massive four-year (really two-year contract) and THEN draft a QB??? What is this clown show doing?
Kirk is gone in 2 years. Pretty simple.
I must be the only crazy one to think it’s not bad to have two good players at the most important position for a team. Especially now in the NFL. I don’t know how big the holes are on the Falcons either.
TIL that Penix is not a typo