Michael Penix Jr. is perfect for the Atlanta Falcons, but they still blew it with Kirk Cousins

Maybe, just maybe when it comes to Michael Penix Jr. and the Atlanta Falcons, we should think about it more.

No.

They should have drafted a pass. Instead, the Falcons became the Falcons again in April by making a fool of themselves for the fourth straight year while on the clock early in the first round.

This time, with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Falcons somehow chose Penix. They did this despite having fewer sacks in the league than anyone over the past three years (with Alabama freak Dallas Turner clearing his throat in the green room for a phone call that never came from north Georgia), and they did so despite the expense. the month before giving a four-year, $180 million contract to Kirk Cousins.

Crazy, right?

Uh huh, but here’s the problem for the rest of us sensible people when it comes to the Falcons drafting a quarterback they didn’t need while ignoring their lack of a pass rush for a bit less than an eternity.

Penix is ​​so friendly.

It’s as a player and as a person.

As for Penix, the person, I wanted to know the Friday after the Falcons’ three-day rookie camp opened in Flowery Branch, Georgia: Michael, listening to you the two times you have been available to the Atlanta media, it is obvious that you are comfortable with who you are. Have you always had this personality, and where did it come from?

“I don’t know. I just feel like it’s always been me,” Penix said, with another easy smile on his face. “I get that question a lot, mostly from my teammates in important situations. They always ask, “Why are you so comfortable right now?” confidence, and you know my preparation, my abilities and the talent that God gave me.

Which brings us to Penix, the player. He uses his left arm to shoot from deep with better accuracy than almost all of his peers. He showed only a fraction of his game during Friday’s open media session, but all he did last season at the University of Washington was a lot after spending his first four years at Indiana University alternating with ACL and shoulder injuries.

Penix was healthy enough in 2023 to take Washington to the College Football Playoff title game before losing to Michigan. Before that, no one in the country threw for more than his 4,903 yards, and his 36 passing touchdowns ranked third overall. He also finished second in the Heisman Trophy race.

It’s becoming more and more obvious: Experience aside, Penix has everything it takes to start in the NFL sooner rather than later, and in a perfect world, he would. But he’s with the Falcons. That means he’s stuck in their imperfect world and he’s 24, an old age for an NFL rookie.

Even if Cousins ​​only lasts two years on his Falcons contract, Penix won’t start for the franchise until after his 26th birthday, which brings us back to the fact that the Falcons are the Falcons.

What’s wrong with this picture?

After the Falcons bragged about scouting Penix, they said he was the second-best quarterback in the draft behind Southern Cal’s Caleb Williams who went No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.

New Falcons coach Raheem Morris also talked about finding a quarterback who fits Atlanta’s culture. If you ignore the dogfight mess, among the most popular athletes in the city’s history was another left-handed quarterback named Michael, and he also had a strong arm and shifty legs.

He was also African-American.

A guy named Vick.

It is very good. So if you’re the Falcons, and if you’re not going to do the next best thing by going for Turner or any other passer at No. 8, then you do the next best thing during and before the draft. It’s not about offering a forever contract (with $100 million guaranteed) to Cousins, 36, who missed most of last season after major Achilles surgery.

It’s about having the foresight of the Pittsburgh Steelers signing perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson to a one-year contract during the offseason at the NFL minimum salary of $1.2 million . Then the Steelers traded a sixth-round pick to the Chicago Bears for 25-year-old quarterback Justin Fields to either replace Wilson in 2025 or land the job this season.

The Steelers have flexibility.

Falcons are Falcons.

If the Falcons were as in love with Penix as they say they are, and if they had ignored Cousins ​​and signed Wilson younger (by a year) and cheaper (by a lot), they could have gotten the ball rolling by now advertising for the beginnings. of the charismatic Penix and his considerable skills for 2025.

Too bad.

Did I mention that the Falcons operate in an imperfect world? For verification, they’ve had six straight losing seasons with a lot of help from oddball top ten picks in each of the last four NFL Drafts?

• In 2021, the Falcons used the fourth overall pick on a tight end (Kyle Pitts who has been mostly a bust) on a potential franchise quarterback (Fields who hit the Falcons last season while exploding with the Bears).
• In 2022, the Falcons used the eighth overall pick to select the wrong wide receiver. They grabbed Drake London instead of Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) or Garrett Wilson (New York Jets), and over the past two years, London has had fewer receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns than each of them.
• In 2023, the Falcons used the eighth overall pick to foreshadow what they would do next year. They grabbed a player they didn’t need. At the time, it was a running back (Bijan Robinson) after Tyler Allgeier rushed for 1,035 yards the previous season for a franchise rookie record.

Robinson is good, but that’s not the point.

With Allgeier already on the roster, the defensively struggling Falcons had to use that eighth pick last year on someone like former Georgia star defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who eventually joined the Eagles from Philadelphia.

Then the Falcons moved on from Turner this year.

They had Penix.

That’s not really good.

It’s just horrible under the circumstances.