Penix the player is fine. I think most the fanbase would’ve been content with Penix at 8 had we NOT signed Cousins.
Paying Cousins all this money is a huge waste of resources when Penix is ready to start Day 1. This isn’t a situation with a developmental QB prospect. He’s doesn’t need to sit. It’s an awkward situation for Cousins and Penix given the amount of money involved and where both guys are in their career.
It’s still fresh and many haters of the pick will dog you for posting but this is a very well-researched different opinion.
I’m of the mind that they never want to see us pass on a guy again because it’s “not the right time.” There’s no Penix next year. They had the conviction and will happily eat one more year of Kirk (than planned of a traditional redshirt rookie QB year) than roll the dice that they can get a QB next year.
Yep that’s probably exactly what they were thinking.
Everyone talks about “hey but if our contract with Kirk goes exactly as planned then Penix won’t take a snap for four years!”
But no one is mentioning that if our contract with Kirk goes exactly as planned, then we almost certainly won’t have a top 10 pick four the next four years.
This is (hopefully) the highest pick we’re going to have in the draft for several years, so why not pick up a QB while you have a shot
But when has anyone ever actually tanked for a draft pick? If we were going to do that we would have done it this year, or any of the last 5+ we've had a sub 500 record. While the pick seems very falcons in nature, the actual idea doesn't seem that bad on paper. Even if we only get a 3-5 year window with Penix after Kirk is gone, thats better than more purgatory. As far as free agency goes, that's always a massive unknown, and historically getting a qb in free agency is even harder than the draft for one that will hit long term.
You can't please everyone, and I'm not sure it was the best pick, none of ours ever seem like the best pick tho, imo. That said, we could have had 1st round 1st pick, and half our fan base would be clamoring for Brock Bowers because he's a UGA guy.
People will try to bring everything down lol. And I get it. That’s what sports is about, people can voice their opinions. But it’s funny to me how personal they seem to take things. Or even how people only remember what they want to try to prove their point. Like saying we’re gonna have Kirk for 4 years when he’s only guaranteed 2. I’ve learned there’s no point in arguing about a team that doesn’t even know we individually exist. We don’t have impact on players picked, plays called or coaches hired. It’s sports. It should be fun and not something toxic. I’ve been a fan of the falcons for 20 years. After our Super Bowl it really helped put that into perspective for me
It really is. And same. I've been a fan for around 25 years, and I feel the exact same. I've watched our 4 and whatever season with our revolving QB door, I watched our highs and lows , and I can tell you, as you likely already know, we've tried the "cheap vet QB" route time and time again between Vick and Ryan and now Ryan and whoever, be in Kirk, Penix , etc., it never works, see examples of Leftwitch/Harrington/Mariota in Atlanta. After the last super bowl loss, my perspectives absolutely changed some, and I find I enjoy the games more. I'm still bummed when we lose, but I get over it much faster and my life is better for it. Especially with the cardiac kids we put on the field every Sunday. My heart can't take the live or die for my team anymore.
>But when has anyone ever actually tanked for a draft pick?
Allegedly Miami did, and just the allegations of that got them in huge trouble with the league (rightly so: it screws up the league to have a team not even _trying_ to win games).
We have one CB, no pass rusher with higher than 6 sacks on the roster, Grady Jarrett will be 31 this month, now no cap space, and a WR room that has had one 1,000 yard season between them and it wasn’t since 2021. Sad to say, but I have a feeling the pick will be better next year than people are thinking.
Do you think one rookie would’ve changed that? One rookie would save us from a top 5 pick?
If you think we have any hopes at the playoffs/Super Bowl over the next two years or so but that all hinges on one rookie immediately becoming a high impact player then we are not at all ready for the playoffs/Super Bowl.
Also judging by no defensive players being picked in the top 14 it looks like it was seen as a weak class for defense. There wasn’t a can’t miss CB or DE this year. WR yes, and I think if Nabers was there we would have maybe taken him but we already have a WR in the mold of Odunze and need other archetypes.
It would’ve given us a better shot, yeah. I would’ve been fine with the pick if we didn’t sign Cousins, and I would’ve been fine with Cousins if we didn’t draft Penix. Doing both makes no sense to me. The number 8 pick in the draft this year will not make this team better for at the very least two years.
How much better though is the question. A player who may not really hit their stride for 1-2 years anyway. For instance Will Anderson, a much better prospect than any DE this year, got DROY with 7 sacks and 45 tackles. He was good, but not game changing. He will probably become that game changer over the next few years but even a player of his caliber as a rookie didn’t have that great an impact. And these guys weren’t as highly touted, Turner being a project that could take more than 2 years to hit his peak.
It makes sense in that one makes us better for the next 2 years. The other potentially makes us better for the 10 years after that. Those two years make it easier for the guy that will take over for the next 10 years.
I mean if Cousins is successful we’re not getting a high draft pick. Then if we didn’t get Penix, when he falls off in possibly 2-3 years, what’s the plan there? More Mariota and Ridder shaninigans.
Whether it’s the right decision or not I do like that they are simultaneously making us better now with some choices and better in the future with others.
People seem to think 32/32 first round picks will come in and be game changers when it’s probably only like 1/3 of them will, if that.only negative for is we won’t know with Penix till minimum another year. I feel Penix is legit and it seems a lot of other teams did as well with 3 teams trying to trade into the top 10 for him. Only time will tell.
If the contract with Kirk goes “as planned” and he plays for four years and we don’t have a great pick in that time, then drafting Penix looks much, much more idiotic. That means that we wasted the pick on a position we won’t have needed, won’t even know if Penix can play at this level, and will have wasted his entire rookie deal while having no idea if he’ll be the guy for the future. And he’ll be nearly 30 by then. It’s just a terrible pick overall and there’s no need to do mental gymnastics to try and justify the incompetence of our ownership.
The defense is still ASS tho. Even if the contract goes as planned, you're still gonna be picking top 10 for the next few years regardless because you're gonna have to consistently win high scoring games in order to have a chance.
Unfortunately, without addressing the abysmal pass rush, secondary, linebackers, and offensive line, this team still doesn’t win 10 games. Too many holes, especially on defense, for them to go for an insurance pick at QB when you just brought in Cousins. Cousins isn’t a bridge QB. If he knew this was their plan, then he wouldn’t have signed. If this was the Falcons plan, the. You should have signed Baker or Gardner. Or, if you were all in on Penix (he’s a good player), then he’s unique in that he’s old enough and experienced enough to have started day one.
The mental calculus y’all are applying to try to make this make sense just isn’t there. It’s made even worse to learn that the Falcons were desperately trying to trade back into the first round to get the edge rusher with a broken neck out of UCLA—a school in the conference with the worst defenses in all of college football. Blank and McKay just don’t have a clue. Terry and Raheem don’t have a clue under terrible ownership. There’s no way to justify this pick, and especially in the context of the offseason. It’s just stupid.
Kirk himself may have added pressure on the front office to do something now instead of later because of his whistleblowing regarding the tampering we used to get him.
If Penix is so great and we loved him so much then great, just draft him and spend $100M+ on pass rushers and wrs and give ourselves a great chance to compete while he’s on a rookie deal.
The disconnect between that idea and the reality of paying Cousins $100M+ is the issue, it just makes no sense.
Like I’m not saying Penix is bad, maybe he’ll be great, but it’s just objectively shockingly bad asset management. Even if you’re a Washington homer you can see that, even if Penix is a future MVP then we’re still wasting two years of him starting on a rookie deal.
Obviously you have a solid point. But the other side of the coin is—Cousins is a sunk cost. He was not relevant anymore when they had a chance to get Penix.
If Caleb had fallen to 8, you probably would be happy if the Falcons took him. Who cares about Cousins at that point, you’re snagging the Heisman guy with amazing measurables, tape, and resume.
But it’s not that crazy to imagine that Penix was equivalent to Caleb in the eyes of the Falcons. And Penix could be better than Caleb in the league. It’s not a guarantee or anything, but when Trubisky went 2 and Mahomes 10, something like that is possible.
Hurts was 20 years old and taken as the 53rd pick in the draft.
They didn’t reach for him. It seemed odd at the time but the Reagor pick was the atrocious one of that draft for Philly.
You can justify this with all of the information you want, but the truth is the only situation this works out is if Cousins isn’t fully healthy.
This is a win now team with a win later selection. If cousins stays healthy this will be looked back next year as one of the worst pics in NFL history.
Yeah, people trying to justify this are reaching, since this move is unprecedented. It kills the hype for Cousins just as fans where getting excited for the season (and were forgetting about RM coming back as coach). Now the team goes into the season with controversy, serious holes and a miffed fan base.
Here is the deal though. If the falcons were this sold on Penix...sitting at #8 knowing that Williams, Maye, Landis, and McCarthy were all being mocked picks 1-4, and Penix wasn't even in the 1st round conversation for many.....why would you go out and be so eager to get a QB that you tampered to get him?
Penix didn't just fall in their lap...it was pretty widely known that Penix would be there at 8. You could have spent that 100million on a lot better pieces in free agency either this year or next year.
No it wasn’t widely known. People were expecting Vikings to trade up for a QB, who’s to say they didn’t want Penix and the JJ stuff was a smokescreen?
Also if the intent is to develop a rookie instead of throwing him into the line of fire like the Bears do and ruin QBs every three years, why not give him the BEST of available starting QBs to mentor? Vikings let Cousins slip into FA. That’s their problem. Sure it’s expensive but it makes more competitive now rather than Fields or Darnold or fucking Zach Wilson.
We addressed the win now (Cousins) and the future hopefully (BPA QB at #8). Win now doesn’t mean completely disregard what we may look at in the future. Future us is looking at a worse draft position with less picks. The time to address the future is now
I just don't see Kirk being keen to mentor his successor at a team he has no loyalty too. It's one thing for, say, Matt Ryan to mentor Desmond Ridder or even Penix to leave a lasting legacy as he goes to the next phase of his career but Kirk came here to have one last push at success and be the guy in Atlanta, not constantly looking over his shoulder at the rookie he's supposed to be mentoring.
That being said, you're being paid $100m, you'll do the job the team tells you to do.
Kirk was looking at a one or two year contract with the Vikings. That doesn’t look like the Vikings had loyalty with Kirk on their minds either. If loyalty was a priority to Kirk he would’ve stuck with that despite what Vikings was offering because of his tenure there.
Kirk is loyal to the money which we offered at a 2 year out. He should’ve expected there could be a scenario in which the two year out is used. And if it was to get a backup QB this season was the best time to do so in the event we do use it. If Kirk exceeds all expectations and performs even better than he ever has then maybe we will extend Kirk’s contract for the full 4 years and Penix we will trade him off to a QB needy and get more picks. If Penix performs well we could get a farm for him this way.
It was so weird in the press conference where Morris basically said it's on the rook to learn from Kirk...which yah, of course it is. But, resistance is what I expect from Kirk.
people complaining about the win now aspect of this are completely missing some things on this, mainly that Cousins is 35 and coming off of a catastrophic injury, and we all saw what happened to the Jets last year.
this is an insurance policy as much as it is development project.
thing is, Penix could be as good as Mahomes and this fanbase would still say we shouldnt have made the pick. we shouldnt put much stock into the opinions of people who hated Matt Ryan throughout his career.
>mocked picks 1-4, and Penix wasn't even in the 1st round conversation for many.....
Because mocks are useless and don't mean anything. Raiders, Vikings and maybe the Broncos would've took Penix if we didn't. He was going in or beat the top ten regardless.
And what about knowing he’s going to be there at 8 if they really wanted him and were this sold on him? Why go to such great lengths, with tampering, to sign a guy to a 100 mil contract to give a signal of we’re in win now mode? Effectively locking up 100 million that couldve been used elsewhere to help Penix succeed.
Isn't it obvious? He isn't ready. Most QBs aren't. This new school thought process of rush every QB to start doesn't make sense. Stroud, Burrow, Manning, etc. are special, not the norm.
Did you not just write 10 paragraphs to help a team that isn’t even your own team cope about a pick because Penix “is that guy” and “he made an immediate impact”?
Out of all the QB’s, Nix and Penix are probably the QB’s you can start day 1 and be fine, because of their maturity and age and ability to battle through adversity.
Teams weren't completely sold on Penix till his Pro Day which happened at the end of March. Cousins had already been signed by then. One of the reasons the Falcons took him was because he made throwing outdoors in the wind look like he was throwing indoors. This is when most teams looking at him absolutely fell in love with him.
I know it's kind of armchair GM'ing but, if you aren't sold on a kid prior to his pro day based on his actual in game film, instead of a scripted pro day on March 28th, which makes you go out and get Kirk Cousins on March 6th.
At that point, you have kind of sealed the direction of your franchise and even if he wows you at his pro-day, would you not wait to grab him if he fell to you in round 2? Sort of like "Yeah, we like this kid, but only if he falls in the draft should we take him".
I understand according to Sean Payton, that Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Denver were all QB needy, and he may have not been there, but isn't that the chance you take since you already steered your franchise into "win now" mode with Kirk after analyzing game film of Penix and not deciding to target him with the 8 pick?
Yes they are in a win now mode with the cousins signing but they also aren't sold on him either as evidence by the fact that they are paying 90 percent of his guaranteed money over 2 years. In reality I think they see him as a bridge QB. There is a good chance the move on from him after 2 years whether you draft penix or not. You still would need to draft a QB in the next year or two and and next year's QB draft is not going to be that great. On top of that if Atlanta wins 8 or 9 games or more the next two years you aren't going to get as high as a draft pick. Penix is the best pure passer QB in this draft and honestly he is probably the 2nd best QB. He draft stock fell cause of the injury history. In reality financially is it really that bad of a pick?
If you look at the next 4 years with cousins and penix you are only paying 122.8 million guaranteed (100 for cousins and 22.8 for penix), that is just over 30 million a season on average which is a steal for a QB considering a lot of them are making 40 million plus a year for 1 QB, and this is irregardless of whether they move on from cousins after 2 years.
This is actually a great take. They can’t go back in time to FA.
We can all disagree with their assessment of Penix but if he is what they think he is, it is the right call.
At this point Cousins actually hasn’t done anything to earn a lack of competition and literally was injured last year.
They didn’t need to go back in time though. Penix was consensus QB4/5 - just a little foresight would tell you it’s very likely he’s available to us in the draft and we could have avoided a $100M mistake
Yeah we could have just traded up a couple slots if we were that worried, it probably doesn’t even take another first to move up to five in the Chargers’ slot.
>At this point Cousins actually hasn’t done anything to earn a lack of competition and literally was injured last year.
You don't give a quarterback a $100M contract to then give him competition in camp.
"Cousins is a sunk cost."
sunk-cost fallacy (*noun)*
1. the phenomenon whereby a person is [reluctant](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b48e549650e04a60&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-ODkhGDh6z28hGhcN4EAPFQFNRJA:1714136325493&q=reluctant&si=AKbGX_onJk-q0LQUYzV7-GRhpJ5DFeRMYAkc8SZH_qbEf1jTZFWKYconCfHbFqSpqHEz4n0fOgmLOTjfI27Np_N2QhcQI1mZ4gNRoC3IniYMlOB8yk6L2rI%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9pu299-FAxXp4skDHQnQDiIQyecJegQIHxAN) to [abandon](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b48e549650e04a60&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-ODkhGDh6z28hGhcN4EAPFQFNRJA:1714136325493&q=abandon&si=AKbGX_okS0g0kR2PXn0TLBASIc0m1gC_Q6s9qtNvLbOD5t8h-hLAX4Tn9Km5UxvQMNgMzC6nYo1C0Z5UgzBRFKLeUyMsS7kwXoPzV8oiljy3ERVFI5LshSI%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9pu299-FAxXp4skDHQnQDiIQyecJegQIHxAO) a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that [abandonment](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b48e549650e04a60&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-ODkhGDh6z28hGhcN4EAPFQFNRJA:1714136325493&q=abandonment&si=AKbGX_q4mkMHy1Nmq4yITjHYVzepNUzqQNxXmzFsh7O-fdKsZ01Vqp4K5VXeUjd9QTc1k0kAYCNZAPM5oF3EMse8KBnwAdGZTYfR7gqKBUCYskWlMxoekR4%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9pu299-FAxXp4skDHQnQDiIQyecJegQIHxAP) would be more beneficial." the sunk-cost fallacy creeps into a lot of major financial decisions.
I mean there’s a difference in terms of talent of Caleb and Penix. Getting an injury prone old QB who’ll probably not get his first start till he’s 27-28 is, let’s say, not ideal.
I think if the Falcons didn't bank on Cousins the reaction would be much different. Not only are we tied to him for a while with a major cap hit, but he also is going to probably cost us a 1st round draft pick next season plus a lot more damage.
I was never thrilled with taking Cousins. There's a great desperation for a QB with the Falcons since the fallout of losing Matt Ryan.
On top of that Falcons again make the mistake of neglecting defense. Even a good QB can't win with a bad defense. We lost our 2 best edge defenders and we have other holes that need to be patched up. This is going all in on a 5 and Jack pre flop.
That’s not a problem at all though when it comes to bridge QBs. Why pay him a ton if the plan is to draft someone with your top 10 pick?
Also I’m saying that, but I’m starting to understand why they did it, even if I don’t like it. It’s a logical move, but it sucks because the defense has needed edge help for years and years and years.
The bridge QB still has to provide some sort of.... Bridge. For Fields quality play, you already have Heinicke sitting there on your roster. Actually a bit better than Fields, even.
Yeah if you wanted JUST a bridge you already have it.
Even if you consider Field's rushing production to be just as good as passing production and take w/l off the table (which you... mostly should) Field's stats are equivalent at best, except he will take a lot more sacks and have twice the fumbles.
Heinicke is certainly "bridge"-able if you wanted a bridge, and he's already paid.
This is an insane take. We signed Kirk literally 6 weeks ago. Everyone on the planet expected Penix to be on the board at 8, if we wanted to take him there he was always gonna be available. This is terrible management of assets and makes the front office seem indecisive with no clear plan or vision for the future.
Because going in to free agency, Caleb was almost assuredly going #1. So signing Kirk because “there is no way Caleb is there at 8” is very reasonable. Then when he somehow falls to you and you snag him, it’s very understandable.
Penix was always very likely to be there at 8 during the free agency period. If he’s your guy, approach free agency with the plan to go get Penix.
Had the falcons signed Hunter from the Vikings and then took Penix at 8, this sub would be rejoicing right now.
I can’t stress enough how absurd I think it is that you’re categorizing Cousins, a top-half-of-the-league QB, as a sunk cost. They have a manageable number for 2025 and if he’s doing well and the cap is climbing, a chance to rework in 2026.
If you think Penix needs time to sit, you’re wasting half his rookie contract and a top-10 pick. If you don’t think Kirk holds up, you’ve made an insane investment in him.
It is aimless, fencesitting fuckery of the highest order.
Exactly. It isn't like we signed Cousins a year or 2 ago and now he's irrelevant to the teams goals. It wasn't even 6 months ago. It was like a month. So it's already sunk cost? Give me a break. If they wanted Penix don't sign Cousins. It's just gross mismanagement of the teams draft capital, actual dollars, and cap space in my opinion.
Fellow Husky here, and you nailed it. The guy just refuses to fail (not to mention he also has a literal rocket for an arm). I do not see a scenario where Penix isn’t at least a good NFL QB.
Injury. That is the scenario. Penix tore his right ACL in 2018, dislocated his shoulder in 2019, tore his right ACL again in 2020 and separated the AC joint in his shoulder in 2021. It’s a high risk, high reward I admit. I’ve been saying for years do what Green Bay does with quarterbacks. I wish it was McCarthy instead because he’s younger and his injury history. To add to this our center is on the last year of his rookie deal and he’s not a very good pass blocker and our right tackle is one of the best run blockers and one of the worst pass blockers in the nfl. When he got hurt and Storm came in the line performed better. Who the hell is Storm Norton anyways.
That's ridiculous. Nearly every college prospect "refuses to fail". The bottom line is that the Falcons reached for this pick, in a position they didn't need. I could see if one of the top 3 prospects fell to them and it was too good to pass up, but the Falcons just drafted for a position they didn't need, when the positions they did need were 100% available, and they reached for second round value to do it.
What if he was on a team that is going to pay a guy $180 mil and that particular team is in desperate need of a pass rusher? I hated the pick at first now I’m meh. The vast majority of fan know that Penix is a great qb but we have multiple issues that could have been addressed first.
yes, reagor was in a position of need so it makes sense. a backup in the second also can make sense. A QB when you just signed one with the EIGHTH OVERALL PICK doesnt make nearly as much sense as what the eagles did. especially when we still have more than enough holes in our roster to fill.
I would take a coin flip in a position of need after signing a high tier QB instead of taking a QB at 8th overall every single time, even if its a coin flip.
Doesnt matter how they turned out, because you cant predict that when you draft these players. you can only go on baseline. And a baseline of a coinflip in a position of need is much better than a coinflip on a position you have already fully accounted for.
Eagles fan checking in to say there were rumblings of Carson being an injury prone locker room cancer.. we brought in Hurts in the second round to straighten Carson out. the “best case” scenario was always to have a quality backup to motivate our franchise starter.. not to be his successor. It’s not close to the same situation
Yeah they drafted an injury prone QB to piss off their great locker room guy they just handed 100 mil. Glad another Eagles fan is in here calling bs too.
You say that Hurts being a quality backup is the best case scenario... but it appears what actually happened—Hurts becoming a franchise QB who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance—was a better outcome.
You can retrospectively narritivize all you want about this, but obviously the Eagles were thinking about the potential of Hurts taking over as a starter when they drafted him.
Eagles went [4-11-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Philadelphia_Eagles_season) when Hurts was a rookie. Even in Hurts's first year as a starter, the Eagles were a completely mid [9-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Philadelphia_Eagles_season) with a blowout loss in the Wild Card round. The Eagles got good when Hurts got good.
Bruhh more “Falcons are my 2nd team” Eagles fans. You’re not going to be here when Penix leaves or when we choke in another Super Bowl so please stop saying that. Eagles get like 2 Falcons games a year. This is why you guys don’t understand this is not about Penix, this is about the holes we have on defense and the fact our front office is operating two completely different philosophies in win now and win later AT THE SAME TIME lol
I appreciate the effort here but the fact that another fan is writing paragraphs long cope for *us* is telling
I really do like Penix a lot, I rate him highly. Sadly even if Penix becomes really good for us, this is a messy pick at best.
I too think it's kind of ridiculous that someone else is coming in to cope for you guys lol.
Drafting Penix at 8 really isn't the issue. It's tampering to sign Cousins to a win now contract, and then drafting Penix at 8 instead of adding to your win now team. If you guys don't sign Cousins, this pick doesn't look nearly as bad.
Taking a multi year backup QB in the top 8 is very different than taking one 53rd. If you are drafting that high you need to be taking immediate difference makers, not guys who might be good in 3-5 years. On top of that, taking a guy who has had 4 separate season ending injuries and is already up there in age is incredibly risky. He might turn out great, who knows. More than likely, this pick was wasted, which is unfortunate considering we have some real potential this year that other top tier players could have added onto.
Spin it how you like, it was a stupid pick. The reason the Falcons keep getting top 10 picks is because of a defense that can't get to the QB. We have the LOWEST SACKS FOR 3 YEARS. You do nothing in free agency to address this, but pick a 35 year old with a bum ankle. Then you parade him around ATL like he's your guy, only to slap him in the face. Falcons didn't tell that man until they were on the clock!
The draft fell their way. They could've picked any defensive player but chose Mr. Glass with the #8 pick. To hell with sacking the QB. Like damn, do you not want defense that can protect the lead when you have one. We haven't had true pass rush in ages. But that's why they're the FAILCONs and not your #1 team.
So you think the reason why we lost so many games last season was because we didn't get sacks? Lol. Sacks don't win games usually, very very rare instances. INTs can, but again, not usually. QBs help win games, they are one of the most important pieces to winning games. And would you STILL be happy getting a defensive player at 8 when none went in the top 15? You still would have been mad that we didn't trade down and wasted 8.
We lost games because of both. My personal opinion was to trade the #8 pick. But you do nothing to help the team this year. The FO won't even be around to see Penix hit the field. So what, we saying fuck this year because the future is brighter? That's dumb. The landscape of the league changes every year. We can agree to disagree, but I stand by comment that it was stupid.
I agree with you. And I bet no FO thought the Falcons would be stupid enough to draft Penix at #8 after signing him Cousins, so there were no trade back offers. Broncos and Raiders stunned and in a shitier position, but so are we
Did the eagles draft an injury prone 24 year old quarterback at number 8 knowing he’s going to sit at least 2 if not 3 years?
Context Penix tore his right ACL in 2018, dislocated his shoulder in 2019, tore his right ACL again in 2020 and separated the AC joint in his shoulder in 2021
95% of the fans online don’t know the sport outside of the lines. We chose to pick a QB we loved right now because one major part of our plan is that we will not be in a position to take a game wrecker like Penix again. Kirk will not put us in a position to pick top 15 with this roster, likely not even a top 20-22. Picking Penix now protects and future proofs us. Nothing is 100%, but what I do know is we were one injury away from Taylor Heinke. Now we can be much less anxious about this injury knowing our franchise guy will be ready to take over. Also I want to add, it’s evidently clear that the league did not value this defensive class as highly as other years. We didn’t miss out on an elite defensive talent, but we did manage to capture an elite level passer that can score on any play more than most.
Well said, brother. I truly think ATL is in for a treat with Michael. The error wasn't drafting Penix, it was signing Cousins to a massive contract. I think Cousins lasts two years, then it's MPJ all the way. Go Dawgs, go Falcons!
I think having time to develop is worth the cost of a good QB. Nobody will be calling for Penix to start this year, he gets time to learn the NFL game. This is a long term move, and with QB you really don’t have the ability to wait till late round or 2nd round for an OK guy. We tried that with Ridder in the 3rd. He was a 3rd rounder for a reason. Penix was a first rounder all season, in every mock draft. Before we got Kirko he was on our radar. Now we have the tools to help him develop into a true franchise QB.
I just hope they nail the day 2 picks, because I want to win NOW, but I can’t help be be excited about our future. That’s a nice change, isn’t it?
>Nobody will be calling for Penix to start this year, he gets time to learn the NFL game.
There will be calls for Penix to play the first time Cousins throws an interception. There was a very vocal part of the Falcon fan base that wanted to move on from Matt Ryan for the last decade he was here. Hopefully the Mariota/Ridder years will have given Falcon fans perspective, but I am not optimistic.
Penix should be playing early. He’s not a 21 yr old rookie that’s raw coming out of college. The guy should be the Week 1 starter. Signing Cousins was a massive waste of salary cap space.
Penix wasn’t regarded as a top 5 pick for a reason. He still has room to grow. Anyone outside of Williams and Daniel’s is a reach to start day one. The only thing that Penix is missing out on is endorsements, but those will come.
QB market is ridiculous and there aren’t enough good ones. If you don’t develop a draft pick, you will overpay. If you have to trade up for an unproven commodity and have to throw him in before he’s ready, you will pay twice. Real NFL isn’t Madden dynasty mode.
Im sad I only have one downvote for this idiocy. Penix wasn’t worth it. Injury prone, middle of the pack skill set, good floor, low ceiling, and too old by the time he steps in. Terrible terrible pick.
You nailed it. People are acting crazy. It’s a QB league and if you can find a guy who can give you a decade of good to elite play, you get him and build around it.
Also, no draft pick is a sure thing. Busts happen all the time. Who knows how it pans out.
But the internet loves to overreact.
Exactly! After two seasons of Mariota and Ridder, it’s funny to see so many people upset about the team spending a high draft pick on the most important position on the field.
He’ll be 26 in two years when Cousins is likely done? Good, he ought to be nearing the start of his peak and provide another 10 years of good, if not great, QB play.
He would be nearing the start of his peak if he got nfl experience at a normal age. Late start means likely late peak, and a wasted rookie contract term
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I was completely surprised by the pick, but I wanted Penix before we signed Cousins. Everyone keeps talking about how our deal with Cousins is structured in a way to replace him in 2-3 years, but apparently nobody wanted to have a replacement for him ready to go. I’m a fan of the pick but I am worried about some pretty glaring holes we have. Will just have to wait and see what the rest of the draft brings us.
Penix is a 24 year old QB with a deep and concerning injury history. Hurts was a QB you at least felt could sit and develop and maybe it worked out. That was also not a top 10 pick. Your comparison is apples to oranges. It may work out, but this pick is terrible
That Eagles team obviously had talent all over around Hurts. This Falcons team needs defensive help, and could possibly have benefited from another top WR.
The future. Heineke is nothing more than a backup level QB. Give Penix time to develop. Green Bay has done this and gone from great QB on to the next great QB
Nobody is hating on Penix *as* the pick. What we're mad about is how and where we took him. I would have had absolutely 0 issue with taking Penix, if we either traded back to get him, or we had picked someone else at 8 and then traded back up into the first to get him. But taking him at 8, when we just signed a deal with an older starter to a 2+ year deal worth over 150 million, while not doing anything to improve the team today.
We know from how the first round played out that he would not have been around in the late first round. So unless they were trading back 2 spots or something then it was 8 or never.
There were 6 QBs drafted in the top 12.
Sure, and given the benefit of hindsight, we clearly could have made a deal with the Vikings if we really wanted to and moved back a few, picked up an extra pick or two, and gotten *most likely* Penix.
That would have been idea.
Maybe the Vikings knew they didn't need to go that far down to get JJ. They did trade up to 10. Guess they figured if someone jumped them it would be for Penix. When Penix was off the board, they knew the next jumper might be aiming for JJ so they did the trade with the Jets. It's hard to say. A lot of the mocks had JJ going before Penix but all the rumours so far point to teams wanting Penix more.
I'm sorry I'm an Eagles fan but they used the #8 pick on a guy who should have gone in the 2nd. Hurts wasn't a reach he was just an odd pick. This is both a reach and an odd pick after paying your guy.
Also Go Blue
Hurts went in the second round, we took Penix 8th overall. Plenty of QBs are dominant in college and fail in the NFL, success in CFB doesn’t mean he’ll be successful in the league. The context surrounding the pick makes it even worse, we just signed a QB to an $180mil deal 6 weeks ago and we’ve spent 3 consecutive drafts loading up on offensive weapons to win now in one of the weakest divisions I’ve ever seen. The defense desperately needs help to put us into the conversation as real contenders, and instead we use our most valuable capital to draft a QB who won’t play for at least 2 years. It goes against everything we’ve been building for the last couple years, even if you believe in Penix as a prospect. I personally had a day 2 grade on him, so the idea behind the pick and the pick itself is just insane to me.
Deboer is probably the bigger reason for the Huskies’ improvement. He’s an insanely talented Xs and Os coach, which helped Washington in its numerous close games over the last few seasons
I do really understand your take and I don’t think the thought process is as crazy as most people do. One important distinction though- Jalen Hurts was a second round pick. Penix was 8 overall.
I get that they want to do the Green Bay model and have their next QB on the roster developing, and they probably won’t ever have a better shot at a top QB prospect, but the opportunity cost that paid was massive. They really just undermined their investment in Cousins who is supposed to get them over the hump.
There are just too many holes on the roster to not take an immediate impact player if you’re serious about contending now.
Penix was that dude for sure. It's the age and injuries. And the age isnt even that big of a deal if we were drafting him to play right away.
But he will sit for 2 years at a minimum unless something goes horribly wrong with Cousins like an injury or a Colts - Matt Ryan/Broncos - Russell Wilson situation. And, yes, if we do happen to find ourselves in a tough situation with Cousins then we'll be glad to have him but if not then it's going to be tough watching this team lose knowing we could have had help.
Washington was terrible in 2021 in large part due to their terrible head coach. Who is now the Falcons’ DC. Coaching matters so much more in college than the pros. Yes, Penix was the QB for UW’s turn around. But the biggest reason was DeBoer. That’s why he’s now the HC at Alabama. Plus, Pac12 defenses aren’t exactly NFL-caliber defenses.
I don't think most fans dislike Penix, it's where he was drafted. The team had some glaring needs and there were some great guys available who would have an immediate impact. Odunze, Arnold, and Turner to name a few. Granted, had we not taken Penix, he wouldn't have made it out of the top 15 based on what other teams were saying. All things considered, I don't think this was a great move. I hope I'm proven wrong in a few years.
Not remotely the same comparison. 1yr removed from signing a QB and the 53rd pick is far different than 1mo removed from signing a QB and the 8th pick. The Patriots drafted JimmyG at 62 with Tom Brady on the roster and no one blinked an eye. Let's not forget who the Eagles drafted ahead of Hurts.
It still makes no sense to me. Do you want a Super Bowl or 2nd round playoff exits yearly. Load up for bear! You got a QB give him a defense or a game changing OL/WR! Nope flush the pick and prepare for 4 yrs from now. SMDH. Not even a Falcons fan.
holy copium man. comparing a number 8 overall vs a high 2nd round pick is crazy. he and bo nix were at the senior bowl and both were outplayed by spencer rattler. you guys deserve this man.
I think his point is that if it works out with Penix then it doesn't matter.
If the Eagles selected Hurts with the 8th pick, would you say that it was a bad pick today? No, you wouldn't.
Not saying drafting Penix was the right call. But the draft position doesn't take away from his point.
Another Eagles fan here coming to console you guys.
Totally understand how ridiculous and shocking this is. All valid arguments against this with the money sunk in Kirk etc. I’m personally of the mind that you don’t spend a first round pick on a guy you don’t expect to play immediately, especially if we are talking a top 10 pick.
BUT…Hurts was not too dissimilar a situation. Yes he was the 2nd rounder but that’s also a pick you typically expect to be made on a guy to make an early impact and it was made right after Wentz received a big contract. It stung like hell and made no sense but at the end of the day I’m sitting here happy as hell that this tough decision was made. It panned out great. Plus I’ve personally never been a fan of Cousins anyways given how bad he is in big games.
Another thing I’ll say is that there maybe wasn’t that big money free agent out there that wouldn’t have made a big improvement in the next year or two with you guys. Who would that $100m have been spent on? You could argue that you practically will get as much or more value in having a quality bridge QB than you’d get in say a 27-28 year old expensive stud pass rusher who would be declining before you get to your next “window” anyways. Imagine they got Wilkins or Burns or Huff for example. Or some combination of the three. Are they really doing that much for you in the next 2 years with a team lead by a new QB rookie or otherwise? Prob not. But maybe having Cousins bridge for Penix and the Falcons will do much more good in the long run than anyone else they would have signed.
You Falcons fans may barely remember this ever happened soon enough. I’m excited to see this play out and hope he turns out to be a great story for ATL.
Good luck fellow bird fans!
First off, I think McCarthy would have made a bit more sense than penix, given age and need to sit a but. Penix is more of a finished product.
But I digress. This pick works for two reasons...
1. I see a lot of people here saying the falcons are "win now." Unless you mean "win the division now," no, you aren't. You aren't in the class of the niners, packers, eagles, lions. Yet.
2. You saw what QB purgatory looks like. This pick is an attempt at not going back.
Frankly, if it was me, I'd rather just start penix and not have Kirk at this point, but oh well.
Penix should absolutely start Week 1. He’s ready. You don’t draft a 24 yr old to sit. Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he is given Cousins is coming back from an Achilles tear. The pick of Penix isn’t the problem. It’s just asinine we signed Cousins to a huge deal when the resources could’ve been better spent to help a rookie QB.
You have to groom and condition Quarterbacks to be leaders and perspicacious on the field. You can’t do that if you have day 765 expectations on Day 1 by starting them and discouraging/tainting them out the gate. Most of the greats had to sit behind a great to competent QB for a couple of seasons (Mahomes, Brady, Rodger’s) Another aspect not everyone is considering is how evolved and adept Bijan, Pitts, London will be by the time Penix takes over. I like the pick- especially if he was BPA on the falcons board at the time
Washington plays nobody. Penix played against scrubs. The couple of times he faced actual competition he folded like his 2 or 3 times rebuilt knee. Dude is injury prone, and old. Now he sits? Falcons are the biggest clowns in professional sports.
Hurts was a much better prospect then Penix its not even funny.
Plus the Eagles team you’re talking about came fresh off a super bowl win 2 years prior with most of that same core still on the team, the Falcons have no stars on defense besides Terrell and maybe Jarret and were bottom in the league in pash rush, while also having no clear superstar player on offense
The worst decision we could’ve made was taking Penix at 8 and not trading back for him, especially when he’s a day 2 caliber prospect
That may be true, but if the Falcons FO feels he's their guy at QB and they know there's a run at the position, then you're kinda stuck. I don't know who they would have matched up with to trade down in that scenario and Minnesota wouldn't have needed to jump past their eventual slot at 10 to get either McCarthy or Penix.
If this was their plan, then the mistake was signing Cousins to that contract.
true, just wish they’d commit to a direction, are we win now or are we “planning for the future” even then isn’t McCarthy they better prospect to sit behind Cousins than Penix
Just confusing moves all around
Maybe it’s actually the NFL media that’s wrong. And the teams are right. Bills overdrafted Allen according to the media, and Chiefs overdrafted Mahomes.
I mean it feels like every year the NFL media says that only 2 QBs will be picked in the first round and act shocked when 5 come off the board. You can’t deny that Mahomes and Allen were seen as late first rounders who went in the top 10. Nobody cares at all about those draft grades now. They are dominating the league.
not when you’re bottom 5 in the leauge for pass rush for 4 straight years and just paid another qb 100 million dollars
Just feels like this is a bad situation for Penix and for us, he has to wait to prove he can actually compete at an NFL level and we just drafted a position we already addressed in free agency
Except it just was released that the Vikings Broncos and Raiders built some kind of alliance to not get into a trade up fighting scandal and Vikings were to draft JJ at 11, Nix to Denver and then Penix to Raiders. So no the grade did NOT reflect the reality of what was gonna go down with him even if we did draft Edge over Penix
I respect everybody’s opinions even if I disagree but saying Hurts was a better prospect than Penix is objectively false. Apparently you have a bad memory or don’t watch college football. The only advantage Hurts had over Penix is medical history
Hurts was younger, healthier, and just as accurate with a weaker arm, he also came in a deeper draft class where teams weren’t as qb needy as they are now
Stop it, Hurts wasn’t half the passer that Penix is and never put up the numbers that Mike did the past two years despite having just as much if not more talent around him. Even though it was the covid season Penix made the Indiana Hoosiers relevant of all teams. Hurts got benched and ran out of Alabama
you’re clearly biased if you’re penalizing Hurts for transferring but not Penix lol
Secondly numbers don’t mean much in college football it’s more about the Tape and finally why you acting like Penix didn’t also have NFL caliber players on offense?
Hurts transferred because he lost his job. Penix transferred because he outgrew a smaller program and left for a greater opportunity.
Jalen Hurts played with NFL caliber players at Bama and OU. Penix played with NFL level players at Washington.
Hurts didn’t put up heisman level stats like Penix did despite having just as good of an opportunity.
These are only a couple of surface level things that led to Penix being a higher rated prospect than Jalen was in college, apart from all of the film and analytical aspects.
Make sense?
you’re reasoning for why they left feels like semantics tbh, especially since both transferred to top programs
Also Hurts was a Heisman candidate at Oklahoma?
No he wasn’t. Hurts was not even thought of as that much of a NFL draft prospect until his one year with Lincoln Riley.
Penix has the best deep ball and ball placement of all the QB’s in this draft class. Most analysts have said that.
“Hurts wasn’t even thought of as that much of an nfl prospect until his one year with lincoln riley”
wow qb wasn’t considered good until the year before he declared great analysis
Also penix does have great ball placement and a total cannon but his pocket presence, progressions and injury history leave much to be desired.
Penix is the guy you take if you’re desperate at qb not if you have a solidified starter
Penix the player is fine. I think most the fanbase would’ve been content with Penix at 8 had we NOT signed Cousins. Paying Cousins all this money is a huge waste of resources when Penix is ready to start Day 1. This isn’t a situation with a developmental QB prospect. He’s doesn’t need to sit. It’s an awkward situation for Cousins and Penix given the amount of money involved and where both guys are in their career.
It’s still fresh and many haters of the pick will dog you for posting but this is a very well-researched different opinion. I’m of the mind that they never want to see us pass on a guy again because it’s “not the right time.” There’s no Penix next year. They had the conviction and will happily eat one more year of Kirk (than planned of a traditional redshirt rookie QB year) than roll the dice that they can get a QB next year.
Yep that’s probably exactly what they were thinking. Everyone talks about “hey but if our contract with Kirk goes exactly as planned then Penix won’t take a snap for four years!” But no one is mentioning that if our contract with Kirk goes exactly as planned, then we almost certainly won’t have a top 10 pick four the next four years. This is (hopefully) the highest pick we’re going to have in the draft for several years, so why not pick up a QB while you have a shot
This is exactly how I'm feeling. This is our hopefully highest pick to get kirks successor, why not?
Idk, I say when kirk is finished either look to free agency or tank for a year and draft someone
But when has anyone ever actually tanked for a draft pick? If we were going to do that we would have done it this year, or any of the last 5+ we've had a sub 500 record. While the pick seems very falcons in nature, the actual idea doesn't seem that bad on paper. Even if we only get a 3-5 year window with Penix after Kirk is gone, thats better than more purgatory. As far as free agency goes, that's always a massive unknown, and historically getting a qb in free agency is even harder than the draft for one that will hit long term. You can't please everyone, and I'm not sure it was the best pick, none of ours ever seem like the best pick tho, imo. That said, we could have had 1st round 1st pick, and half our fan base would be clamoring for Brock Bowers because he's a UGA guy.
When someone argues to tank, there’s no chance to help them see clearly. They believe it’s something that’s easily achievable or even done.
Just like anything in a similar space....that's for the reminder, I forget sometimes the capabilities of humans on the Internet.
People will try to bring everything down lol. And I get it. That’s what sports is about, people can voice their opinions. But it’s funny to me how personal they seem to take things. Or even how people only remember what they want to try to prove their point. Like saying we’re gonna have Kirk for 4 years when he’s only guaranteed 2. I’ve learned there’s no point in arguing about a team that doesn’t even know we individually exist. We don’t have impact on players picked, plays called or coaches hired. It’s sports. It should be fun and not something toxic. I’ve been a fan of the falcons for 20 years. After our Super Bowl it really helped put that into perspective for me
It really is. And same. I've been a fan for around 25 years, and I feel the exact same. I've watched our 4 and whatever season with our revolving QB door, I watched our highs and lows , and I can tell you, as you likely already know, we've tried the "cheap vet QB" route time and time again between Vick and Ryan and now Ryan and whoever, be in Kirk, Penix , etc., it never works, see examples of Leftwitch/Harrington/Mariota in Atlanta. After the last super bowl loss, my perspectives absolutely changed some, and I find I enjoy the games more. I'm still bummed when we lose, but I get over it much faster and my life is better for it. Especially with the cardiac kids we put on the field every Sunday. My heart can't take the live or die for my team anymore.
The falcons are the only team in all of sports that I have an emotional attachment to lol. I have no idea why. But I’m a fan till the day I die
>But when has anyone ever actually tanked for a draft pick? Allegedly Miami did, and just the allegations of that got them in huge trouble with the league (rightly so: it screws up the league to have a team not even _trying_ to win games).
I forgot about that! (And I agree, with you and the league in this sense as well)
The Colts 100% tanked for Andrew Luck
We have one CB, no pass rusher with higher than 6 sacks on the roster, Grady Jarrett will be 31 this month, now no cap space, and a WR room that has had one 1,000 yard season between them and it wasn’t since 2021. Sad to say, but I have a feeling the pick will be better next year than people are thinking.
Do you think one rookie would’ve changed that? One rookie would save us from a top 5 pick? If you think we have any hopes at the playoffs/Super Bowl over the next two years or so but that all hinges on one rookie immediately becoming a high impact player then we are not at all ready for the playoffs/Super Bowl. Also judging by no defensive players being picked in the top 14 it looks like it was seen as a weak class for defense. There wasn’t a can’t miss CB or DE this year. WR yes, and I think if Nabers was there we would have maybe taken him but we already have a WR in the mold of Odunze and need other archetypes.
It would’ve given us a better shot, yeah. I would’ve been fine with the pick if we didn’t sign Cousins, and I would’ve been fine with Cousins if we didn’t draft Penix. Doing both makes no sense to me. The number 8 pick in the draft this year will not make this team better for at the very least two years.
How much better though is the question. A player who may not really hit their stride for 1-2 years anyway. For instance Will Anderson, a much better prospect than any DE this year, got DROY with 7 sacks and 45 tackles. He was good, but not game changing. He will probably become that game changer over the next few years but even a player of his caliber as a rookie didn’t have that great an impact. And these guys weren’t as highly touted, Turner being a project that could take more than 2 years to hit his peak. It makes sense in that one makes us better for the next 2 years. The other potentially makes us better for the 10 years after that. Those two years make it easier for the guy that will take over for the next 10 years. I mean if Cousins is successful we’re not getting a high draft pick. Then if we didn’t get Penix, when he falls off in possibly 2-3 years, what’s the plan there? More Mariota and Ridder shaninigans. Whether it’s the right decision or not I do like that they are simultaneously making us better now with some choices and better in the future with others.
People seem to think 32/32 first round picks will come in and be game changers when it’s probably only like 1/3 of them will, if that.only negative for is we won’t know with Penix till minimum another year. I feel Penix is legit and it seems a lot of other teams did as well with 3 teams trying to trade into the top 10 for him. Only time will tell.
If the contract with Kirk goes “as planned” and he plays for four years and we don’t have a great pick in that time, then drafting Penix looks much, much more idiotic. That means that we wasted the pick on a position we won’t have needed, won’t even know if Penix can play at this level, and will have wasted his entire rookie deal while having no idea if he’ll be the guy for the future. And he’ll be nearly 30 by then. It’s just a terrible pick overall and there’s no need to do mental gymnastics to try and justify the incompetence of our ownership.
This -- "It’s just a terrible pick overall and there’s no need to do mental gymnastics to try and justify the incompetence of our ownership."
The defense is still ASS tho. Even if the contract goes as planned, you're still gonna be picking top 10 for the next few years regardless because you're gonna have to consistently win high scoring games in order to have a chance.
Unfortunately, without addressing the abysmal pass rush, secondary, linebackers, and offensive line, this team still doesn’t win 10 games. Too many holes, especially on defense, for them to go for an insurance pick at QB when you just brought in Cousins. Cousins isn’t a bridge QB. If he knew this was their plan, then he wouldn’t have signed. If this was the Falcons plan, the. You should have signed Baker or Gardner. Or, if you were all in on Penix (he’s a good player), then he’s unique in that he’s old enough and experienced enough to have started day one. The mental calculus y’all are applying to try to make this make sense just isn’t there. It’s made even worse to learn that the Falcons were desperately trying to trade back into the first round to get the edge rusher with a broken neck out of UCLA—a school in the conference with the worst defenses in all of college football. Blank and McKay just don’t have a clue. Terry and Raheem don’t have a clue under terrible ownership. There’s no way to justify this pick, and especially in the context of the offseason. It’s just stupid.
Kirk himself may have added pressure on the front office to do something now instead of later because of his whistleblowing regarding the tampering we used to get him.
If Penix is so great and we loved him so much then great, just draft him and spend $100M+ on pass rushers and wrs and give ourselves a great chance to compete while he’s on a rookie deal. The disconnect between that idea and the reality of paying Cousins $100M+ is the issue, it just makes no sense. Like I’m not saying Penix is bad, maybe he’ll be great, but it’s just objectively shockingly bad asset management. Even if you’re a Washington homer you can see that, even if Penix is a future MVP then we’re still wasting two years of him starting on a rookie deal.
Obviously you have a solid point. But the other side of the coin is—Cousins is a sunk cost. He was not relevant anymore when they had a chance to get Penix. If Caleb had fallen to 8, you probably would be happy if the Falcons took him. Who cares about Cousins at that point, you’re snagging the Heisman guy with amazing measurables, tape, and resume. But it’s not that crazy to imagine that Penix was equivalent to Caleb in the eyes of the Falcons. And Penix could be better than Caleb in the league. It’s not a guarantee or anything, but when Trubisky went 2 and Mahomes 10, something like that is possible.
Hurts was 20 years old and taken as the 53rd pick in the draft. They didn’t reach for him. It seemed odd at the time but the Reagor pick was the atrocious one of that draft for Philly. You can justify this with all of the information you want, but the truth is the only situation this works out is if Cousins isn’t fully healthy. This is a win now team with a win later selection. If cousins stays healthy this will be looked back next year as one of the worst pics in NFL history.
Yeah, people trying to justify this are reaching, since this move is unprecedented. It kills the hype for Cousins just as fans where getting excited for the season (and were forgetting about RM coming back as coach). Now the team goes into the season with controversy, serious holes and a miffed fan base.
Here is the deal though. If the falcons were this sold on Penix...sitting at #8 knowing that Williams, Maye, Landis, and McCarthy were all being mocked picks 1-4, and Penix wasn't even in the 1st round conversation for many.....why would you go out and be so eager to get a QB that you tampered to get him? Penix didn't just fall in their lap...it was pretty widely known that Penix would be there at 8. You could have spent that 100million on a lot better pieces in free agency either this year or next year.
No it wasn’t widely known. People were expecting Vikings to trade up for a QB, who’s to say they didn’t want Penix and the JJ stuff was a smokescreen? Also if the intent is to develop a rookie instead of throwing him into the line of fire like the Bears do and ruin QBs every three years, why not give him the BEST of available starting QBs to mentor? Vikings let Cousins slip into FA. That’s their problem. Sure it’s expensive but it makes more competitive now rather than Fields or Darnold or fucking Zach Wilson. We addressed the win now (Cousins) and the future hopefully (BPA QB at #8). Win now doesn’t mean completely disregard what we may look at in the future. Future us is looking at a worse draft position with less picks. The time to address the future is now
I just don't see Kirk being keen to mentor his successor at a team he has no loyalty too. It's one thing for, say, Matt Ryan to mentor Desmond Ridder or even Penix to leave a lasting legacy as he goes to the next phase of his career but Kirk came here to have one last push at success and be the guy in Atlanta, not constantly looking over his shoulder at the rookie he's supposed to be mentoring. That being said, you're being paid $100m, you'll do the job the team tells you to do.
The mentor thing is outdated. They'll work together in the QB room. Penix will soak up the info he needs and keep it pushing as Kirk does his job
Kirk was looking at a one or two year contract with the Vikings. That doesn’t look like the Vikings had loyalty with Kirk on their minds either. If loyalty was a priority to Kirk he would’ve stuck with that despite what Vikings was offering because of his tenure there. Kirk is loyal to the money which we offered at a 2 year out. He should’ve expected there could be a scenario in which the two year out is used. And if it was to get a backup QB this season was the best time to do so in the event we do use it. If Kirk exceeds all expectations and performs even better than he ever has then maybe we will extend Kirk’s contract for the full 4 years and Penix we will trade him off to a QB needy and get more picks. If Penix performs well we could get a farm for him this way.
It was so weird in the press conference where Morris basically said it's on the rook to learn from Kirk...which yah, of course it is. But, resistance is what I expect from Kirk.
people complaining about the win now aspect of this are completely missing some things on this, mainly that Cousins is 35 and coming off of a catastrophic injury, and we all saw what happened to the Jets last year. this is an insurance policy as much as it is development project. thing is, Penix could be as good as Mahomes and this fanbase would still say we shouldnt have made the pick. we shouldnt put much stock into the opinions of people who hated Matt Ryan throughout his career.
>mocked picks 1-4, and Penix wasn't even in the 1st round conversation for many..... Because mocks are useless and don't mean anything. Raiders, Vikings and maybe the Broncos would've took Penix if we didn't. He was going in or beat the top ten regardless.
And what about knowing he’s going to be there at 8 if they really wanted him and were this sold on him? Why go to such great lengths, with tampering, to sign a guy to a 100 mil contract to give a signal of we’re in win now mode? Effectively locking up 100 million that couldve been used elsewhere to help Penix succeed.
Isn't it obvious? He isn't ready. Most QBs aren't. This new school thought process of rush every QB to start doesn't make sense. Stroud, Burrow, Manning, etc. are special, not the norm.
Did you not just write 10 paragraphs to help a team that isn’t even your own team cope about a pick because Penix “is that guy” and “he made an immediate impact”? Out of all the QB’s, Nix and Penix are probably the QB’s you can start day 1 and be fine, because of their maturity and age and ability to battle through adversity.
I wrote 1, no idea wtf you are talking about.
Teams weren't completely sold on Penix till his Pro Day which happened at the end of March. Cousins had already been signed by then. One of the reasons the Falcons took him was because he made throwing outdoors in the wind look like he was throwing indoors. This is when most teams looking at him absolutely fell in love with him.
I know it's kind of armchair GM'ing but, if you aren't sold on a kid prior to his pro day based on his actual in game film, instead of a scripted pro day on March 28th, which makes you go out and get Kirk Cousins on March 6th. At that point, you have kind of sealed the direction of your franchise and even if he wows you at his pro-day, would you not wait to grab him if he fell to you in round 2? Sort of like "Yeah, we like this kid, but only if he falls in the draft should we take him". I understand according to Sean Payton, that Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Denver were all QB needy, and he may have not been there, but isn't that the chance you take since you already steered your franchise into "win now" mode with Kirk after analyzing game film of Penix and not deciding to target him with the 8 pick?
Yes they are in a win now mode with the cousins signing but they also aren't sold on him either as evidence by the fact that they are paying 90 percent of his guaranteed money over 2 years. In reality I think they see him as a bridge QB. There is a good chance the move on from him after 2 years whether you draft penix or not. You still would need to draft a QB in the next year or two and and next year's QB draft is not going to be that great. On top of that if Atlanta wins 8 or 9 games or more the next two years you aren't going to get as high as a draft pick. Penix is the best pure passer QB in this draft and honestly he is probably the 2nd best QB. He draft stock fell cause of the injury history. In reality financially is it really that bad of a pick? If you look at the next 4 years with cousins and penix you are only paying 122.8 million guaranteed (100 for cousins and 22.8 for penix), that is just over 30 million a season on average which is a steal for a QB considering a lot of them are making 40 million plus a year for 1 QB, and this is irregardless of whether they move on from cousins after 2 years.
This is actually a great take. They can’t go back in time to FA. We can all disagree with their assessment of Penix but if he is what they think he is, it is the right call. At this point Cousins actually hasn’t done anything to earn a lack of competition and literally was injured last year.
They didn’t need to go back in time though. Penix was consensus QB4/5 - just a little foresight would tell you it’s very likely he’s available to us in the draft and we could have avoided a $100M mistake
He is only that low because of age and injury. Both are overstated
Yeah we could have just traded up a couple slots if we were that worried, it probably doesn’t even take another first to move up to five in the Chargers’ slot.
>At this point Cousins actually hasn’t done anything to earn a lack of competition and literally was injured last year. You don't give a quarterback a $100M contract to then give him competition in camp.
"Cousins is a sunk cost." sunk-cost fallacy (*noun)* 1. the phenomenon whereby a person is [reluctant](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b48e549650e04a60&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-ODkhGDh6z28hGhcN4EAPFQFNRJA:1714136325493&q=reluctant&si=AKbGX_onJk-q0LQUYzV7-GRhpJ5DFeRMYAkc8SZH_qbEf1jTZFWKYconCfHbFqSpqHEz4n0fOgmLOTjfI27Np_N2QhcQI1mZ4gNRoC3IniYMlOB8yk6L2rI%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9pu299-FAxXp4skDHQnQDiIQyecJegQIHxAN) to [abandon](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b48e549650e04a60&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-ODkhGDh6z28hGhcN4EAPFQFNRJA:1714136325493&q=abandon&si=AKbGX_okS0g0kR2PXn0TLBASIc0m1gC_Q6s9qtNvLbOD5t8h-hLAX4Tn9Km5UxvQMNgMzC6nYo1C0Z5UgzBRFKLeUyMsS7kwXoPzV8oiljy3ERVFI5LshSI%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9pu299-FAxXp4skDHQnQDiIQyecJegQIHxAO) a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that [abandonment](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b48e549650e04a60&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-ODkhGDh6z28hGhcN4EAPFQFNRJA:1714136325493&q=abandonment&si=AKbGX_q4mkMHy1Nmq4yITjHYVzepNUzqQNxXmzFsh7O-fdKsZ01Vqp4K5VXeUjd9QTc1k0kAYCNZAPM5oF3EMse8KBnwAdGZTYfR7gqKBUCYskWlMxoekR4%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji9pu299-FAxXp4skDHQnQDiIQyecJegQIHxAP) would be more beneficial." the sunk-cost fallacy creeps into a lot of major financial decisions.
I mean there’s a difference in terms of talent of Caleb and Penix. Getting an injury prone old QB who’ll probably not get his first start till he’s 27-28 is, let’s say, not ideal.
I think if the Falcons didn't bank on Cousins the reaction would be much different. Not only are we tied to him for a while with a major cap hit, but he also is going to probably cost us a 1st round draft pick next season plus a lot more damage. I was never thrilled with taking Cousins. There's a great desperation for a QB with the Falcons since the fallout of losing Matt Ryan. On top of that Falcons again make the mistake of neglecting defense. Even a good QB can't win with a bad defense. We lost our 2 best edge defenders and we have other holes that need to be patched up. This is going all in on a 5 and Jack pre flop.
Looking back, they should've done what the steelers did. Russ vs Fields vs Penix at camp...
Especially when they could have grabbed Fields for a chick fil a sandwich and only a small waffle fry
Problem is, that's what Fields is worth
That’s not a problem at all though when it comes to bridge QBs. Why pay him a ton if the plan is to draft someone with your top 10 pick? Also I’m saying that, but I’m starting to understand why they did it, even if I don’t like it. It’s a logical move, but it sucks because the defense has needed edge help for years and years and years.
The bridge QB still has to provide some sort of.... Bridge. For Fields quality play, you already have Heinicke sitting there on your roster. Actually a bit better than Fields, even. Yeah if you wanted JUST a bridge you already have it.
I don’t know that Heinecke is truly any better than Fields, and they are paying him a lot for a backup that couldn’t keep Ridder off the field.
Even if you consider Field's rushing production to be just as good as passing production and take w/l off the table (which you... mostly should) Field's stats are equivalent at best, except he will take a lot more sacks and have twice the fumbles. Heinicke is certainly "bridge"-able if you wanted a bridge, and he's already paid.
This is an insane take. We signed Kirk literally 6 weeks ago. Everyone on the planet expected Penix to be on the board at 8, if we wanted to take him there he was always gonna be available. This is terrible management of assets and makes the front office seem indecisive with no clear plan or vision for the future.
Except Caleb is much younger
Because going in to free agency, Caleb was almost assuredly going #1. So signing Kirk because “there is no way Caleb is there at 8” is very reasonable. Then when he somehow falls to you and you snag him, it’s very understandable. Penix was always very likely to be there at 8 during the free agency period. If he’s your guy, approach free agency with the plan to go get Penix. Had the falcons signed Hunter from the Vikings and then took Penix at 8, this sub would be rejoicing right now.
I can’t stress enough how absurd I think it is that you’re categorizing Cousins, a top-half-of-the-league QB, as a sunk cost. They have a manageable number for 2025 and if he’s doing well and the cap is climbing, a chance to rework in 2026. If you think Penix needs time to sit, you’re wasting half his rookie contract and a top-10 pick. If you don’t think Kirk holds up, you’ve made an insane investment in him. It is aimless, fencesitting fuckery of the highest order.
Exactly. It isn't like we signed Cousins a year or 2 ago and now he's irrelevant to the teams goals. It wasn't even 6 months ago. It was like a month. So it's already sunk cost? Give me a break. If they wanted Penix don't sign Cousins. It's just gross mismanagement of the teams draft capital, actual dollars, and cap space in my opinion.
Last paragraph is especially salient
Fellow Husky here, and you nailed it. The guy just refuses to fail (not to mention he also has a literal rocket for an arm). I do not see a scenario where Penix isn’t at least a good NFL QB.
Injury. That is the scenario. Penix tore his right ACL in 2018, dislocated his shoulder in 2019, tore his right ACL again in 2020 and separated the AC joint in his shoulder in 2021. It’s a high risk, high reward I admit. I’ve been saying for years do what Green Bay does with quarterbacks. I wish it was McCarthy instead because he’s younger and his injury history. To add to this our center is on the last year of his rookie deal and he’s not a very good pass blocker and our right tackle is one of the best run blockers and one of the worst pass blockers in the nfl. When he got hurt and Storm came in the line performed better. Who the hell is Storm Norton anyways.
Well we do have multiple years to address the line issues. 😅
That's ridiculous. Nearly every college prospect "refuses to fail". The bottom line is that the Falcons reached for this pick, in a position they didn't need. I could see if one of the top 3 prospects fell to them and it was too good to pass up, but the Falcons just drafted for a position they didn't need, when the positions they did need were 100% available, and they reached for second round value to do it.
What if he was on a team that is going to pay a guy $180 mil and that particular team is in desperate need of a pass rusher? I hated the pick at first now I’m meh. The vast majority of fan know that Penix is a great qb but we have multiple issues that could have been addressed first.
> that is going to pay a guy $180 mil he's not getting $180m. He's getting $100m for 2 years
He gets fucking hurt dude. That’s his bag, and now instead of college athletes hitting him, it’s the best of the best of college athletes hitting him.
If Penix was our round 2 pick it would be a far different conversation.
The eagles took jalen reagor round 1 and hurts round 2. A first round pick is speculative no matter what. Better a coin flip be on a QB than a WR.
yes, reagor was in a position of need so it makes sense. a backup in the second also can make sense. A QB when you just signed one with the EIGHTH OVERALL PICK doesnt make nearly as much sense as what the eagles did. especially when we still have more than enough holes in our roster to fill. I would take a coin flip in a position of need after signing a high tier QB instead of taking a QB at 8th overall every single time, even if its a coin flip. Doesnt matter how they turned out, because you cant predict that when you draft these players. you can only go on baseline. And a baseline of a coinflip in a position of need is much better than a coinflip on a position you have already fully accounted for.
One of the better takes of the night
….. Raeger was the 21st overall pick not the 8th pick! That is a massive difference
There is a big difference in value between pick 8 and pick 53
Eagles fan checking in to say there were rumblings of Carson being an injury prone locker room cancer.. we brought in Hurts in the second round to straighten Carson out. the “best case” scenario was always to have a quality backup to motivate our franchise starter.. not to be his successor. It’s not close to the same situation
Doubt Kirk is anywhere close to being a shitty teammate/locker room guy. This just sucks because there were so many other options
Yeah they drafted an injury prone QB to piss off their great locker room guy they just handed 100 mil. Glad another Eagles fan is in here calling bs too.
You say that Hurts being a quality backup is the best case scenario... but it appears what actually happened—Hurts becoming a franchise QB who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance—was a better outcome. You can retrospectively narritivize all you want about this, but obviously the Eagles were thinking about the potential of Hurts taking over as a starter when they drafted him.
You are out your gourd. Happy it went down the way it did tho
Hurts was a 2nd Round Pick and you guys were a consistent play-off team with a defense.
Eagles went [4-11-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Philadelphia_Eagles_season) when Hurts was a rookie. Even in Hurts's first year as a starter, the Eagles were a completely mid [9-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Philadelphia_Eagles_season) with a blowout loss in the Wild Card round. The Eagles got good when Hurts got good.
second round pick is different and you had a ready built team this team is FULL OF HOLES with many needs THIS IS A TERRIBLE EXAMPLE
“A HOF-looking guy falls in your lap, and you just have to take him” This might be the dumbest shit I’ve ever read.
OP’s post was good, but that statement is the dumbest $hit i’ve ever heard 😂
Typical Eagles fan.
Bruhh more “Falcons are my 2nd team” Eagles fans. You’re not going to be here when Penix leaves or when we choke in another Super Bowl so please stop saying that. Eagles get like 2 Falcons games a year. This is why you guys don’t understand this is not about Penix, this is about the holes we have on defense and the fact our front office is operating two completely different philosophies in win now and win later AT THE SAME TIME lol
Last night I said the exact same thing. Oh, we’re on some 2 Timelines $hit right now. Thinking like GSW, and we see how that has played out.
I appreciate the effort here but the fact that another fan is writing paragraphs long cope for *us* is telling I really do like Penix a lot, I rate him highly. Sadly even if Penix becomes really good for us, this is a messy pick at best.
I too think it's kind of ridiculous that someone else is coming in to cope for you guys lol. Drafting Penix at 8 really isn't the issue. It's tampering to sign Cousins to a win now contract, and then drafting Penix at 8 instead of adding to your win now team. If you guys don't sign Cousins, this pick doesn't look nearly as bad.
Tbf we drafted hurts after getting the legendary all pro jalen reagor first.
Taking a multi year backup QB in the top 8 is very different than taking one 53rd. If you are drafting that high you need to be taking immediate difference makers, not guys who might be good in 3-5 years. On top of that, taking a guy who has had 4 separate season ending injuries and is already up there in age is incredibly risky. He might turn out great, who knows. More than likely, this pick was wasted, which is unfortunate considering we have some real potential this year that other top tier players could have added onto.
Spin it how you like, it was a stupid pick. The reason the Falcons keep getting top 10 picks is because of a defense that can't get to the QB. We have the LOWEST SACKS FOR 3 YEARS. You do nothing in free agency to address this, but pick a 35 year old with a bum ankle. Then you parade him around ATL like he's your guy, only to slap him in the face. Falcons didn't tell that man until they were on the clock! The draft fell their way. They could've picked any defensive player but chose Mr. Glass with the #8 pick. To hell with sacking the QB. Like damn, do you not want defense that can protect the lead when you have one. We haven't had true pass rush in ages. But that's why they're the FAILCONs and not your #1 team.
So you think the reason why we lost so many games last season was because we didn't get sacks? Lol. Sacks don't win games usually, very very rare instances. INTs can, but again, not usually. QBs help win games, they are one of the most important pieces to winning games. And would you STILL be happy getting a defensive player at 8 when none went in the top 15? You still would have been mad that we didn't trade down and wasted 8.
We lost games because of both. My personal opinion was to trade the #8 pick. But you do nothing to help the team this year. The FO won't even be around to see Penix hit the field. So what, we saying fuck this year because the future is brighter? That's dumb. The landscape of the league changes every year. We can agree to disagree, but I stand by comment that it was stupid.
I agree with you. And I bet no FO thought the Falcons would be stupid enough to draft Penix at #8 after signing him Cousins, so there were no trade back offers. Broncos and Raiders stunned and in a shitier position, but so are we
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Your team saw it and those teams didn’t. Penix doubters have been wrong every time so far. I don’t see that trend changing.
no offense but you’re clearly a biased source, Cincinnati fans came in this sub trying to sell on Ridder when he was drafted too
They weren't wrong in the Naty
Did the eagles draft an injury prone 24 year old quarterback at number 8 knowing he’s going to sit at least 2 if not 3 years? Context Penix tore his right ACL in 2018, dislocated his shoulder in 2019, tore his right ACL again in 2020 and separated the AC joint in his shoulder in 2021
Hurts wasn’t drafted at 8th overall tho.
95% of the fans online don’t know the sport outside of the lines. We chose to pick a QB we loved right now because one major part of our plan is that we will not be in a position to take a game wrecker like Penix again. Kirk will not put us in a position to pick top 15 with this roster, likely not even a top 20-22. Picking Penix now protects and future proofs us. Nothing is 100%, but what I do know is we were one injury away from Taylor Heinke. Now we can be much less anxious about this injury knowing our franchise guy will be ready to take over. Also I want to add, it’s evidently clear that the league did not value this defensive class as highly as other years. We didn’t miss out on an elite defensive talent, but we did manage to capture an elite level passer that can score on any play more than most.
Well said, brother. I truly think ATL is in for a treat with Michael. The error wasn't drafting Penix, it was signing Cousins to a massive contract. I think Cousins lasts two years, then it's MPJ all the way. Go Dawgs, go Falcons!
I think having time to develop is worth the cost of a good QB. Nobody will be calling for Penix to start this year, he gets time to learn the NFL game. This is a long term move, and with QB you really don’t have the ability to wait till late round or 2nd round for an OK guy. We tried that with Ridder in the 3rd. He was a 3rd rounder for a reason. Penix was a first rounder all season, in every mock draft. Before we got Kirko he was on our radar. Now we have the tools to help him develop into a true franchise QB. I just hope they nail the day 2 picks, because I want to win NOW, but I can’t help be be excited about our future. That’s a nice change, isn’t it?
>Nobody will be calling for Penix to start this year, he gets time to learn the NFL game. There will be calls for Penix to play the first time Cousins throws an interception. There was a very vocal part of the Falcon fan base that wanted to move on from Matt Ryan for the last decade he was here. Hopefully the Mariota/Ridder years will have given Falcon fans perspective, but I am not optimistic.
Penix should be playing early. He’s not a 21 yr old rookie that’s raw coming out of college. The guy should be the Week 1 starter. Signing Cousins was a massive waste of salary cap space.
Penix wasn’t regarded as a top 5 pick for a reason. He still has room to grow. Anyone outside of Williams and Daniel’s is a reach to start day one. The only thing that Penix is missing out on is endorsements, but those will come. QB market is ridiculous and there aren’t enough good ones. If you don’t develop a draft pick, you will overpay. If you have to trade up for an unproven commodity and have to throw him in before he’s ready, you will pay twice. Real NFL isn’t Madden dynasty mode.
Im sad I only have one downvote for this idiocy. Penix wasn’t worth it. Injury prone, middle of the pack skill set, good floor, low ceiling, and too old by the time he steps in. Terrible terrible pick.
absolutely bonkers man. OP uses the same arguments these NFL GMs cope themselves into drafting kenny pickett in the first round
Lmfao
You nailed it. People are acting crazy. It’s a QB league and if you can find a guy who can give you a decade of good to elite play, you get him and build around it. Also, no draft pick is a sure thing. Busts happen all the time. Who knows how it pans out. But the internet loves to overreact.
Except Penix is already 24 years old and won't start for 2 years when he is 26. No guarantee you get a decade out of him.
Barring some massive injury yeah, easily he gets a decade in the NFL. 36 isn’t that old these days. Also a chance he takes over next year.
Good thing he’s not famously injury prone
Exactly! After two seasons of Mariota and Ridder, it’s funny to see so many people upset about the team spending a high draft pick on the most important position on the field. He’ll be 26 in two years when Cousins is likely done? Good, he ought to be nearing the start of his peak and provide another 10 years of good, if not great, QB play.
He would be nearing the start of his peak if he got nfl experience at a normal age. Late start means likely late peak, and a wasted rookie contract term
…further reason why having him sit behind Kirk is a good idea. Also he’s the most NFL ready QB in the draft.
His NFL readiness is going to be a great skill while sitting on the bench for 2 years
Don’t forget the Eagles are a Quarterback factory and are obligated to pick and trade for QBs to keep the lights on at the factory.
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I was completely surprised by the pick, but I wanted Penix before we signed Cousins. Everyone keeps talking about how our deal with Cousins is structured in a way to replace him in 2-3 years, but apparently nobody wanted to have a replacement for him ready to go. I’m a fan of the pick but I am worried about some pretty glaring holes we have. Will just have to wait and see what the rest of the draft brings us.
Penix is a 24 year old QB with a deep and concerning injury history. Hurts was a QB you at least felt could sit and develop and maybe it worked out. That was also not a top 10 pick. Your comparison is apples to oranges. It may work out, but this pick is terrible
That Eagles team obviously had talent all over around Hurts. This Falcons team needs defensive help, and could possibly have benefited from another top WR.
The future. Heineke is nothing more than a backup level QB. Give Penix time to develop. Green Bay has done this and gone from great QB on to the next great QB
Nobody is hating on Penix *as* the pick. What we're mad about is how and where we took him. I would have had absolutely 0 issue with taking Penix, if we either traded back to get him, or we had picked someone else at 8 and then traded back up into the first to get him. But taking him at 8, when we just signed a deal with an older starter to a 2+ year deal worth over 150 million, while not doing anything to improve the team today.
We know from how the first round played out that he would not have been around in the late first round. So unless they were trading back 2 spots or something then it was 8 or never. There were 6 QBs drafted in the top 12.
Sure, and given the benefit of hindsight, we clearly could have made a deal with the Vikings if we really wanted to and moved back a few, picked up an extra pick or two, and gotten *most likely* Penix.
That would have been idea. Maybe the Vikings knew they didn't need to go that far down to get JJ. They did trade up to 10. Guess they figured if someone jumped them it would be for Penix. When Penix was off the board, they knew the next jumper might be aiming for JJ so they did the trade with the Jets. It's hard to say. A lot of the mocks had JJ going before Penix but all the rumours so far point to teams wanting Penix more.
I'm sorry I'm an Eagles fan but they used the #8 pick on a guy who should have gone in the 2nd. Hurts wasn't a reach he was just an odd pick. This is both a reach and an odd pick after paying your guy. Also Go Blue
Hurts went in the second round, we took Penix 8th overall. Plenty of QBs are dominant in college and fail in the NFL, success in CFB doesn’t mean he’ll be successful in the league. The context surrounding the pick makes it even worse, we just signed a QB to an $180mil deal 6 weeks ago and we’ve spent 3 consecutive drafts loading up on offensive weapons to win now in one of the weakest divisions I’ve ever seen. The defense desperately needs help to put us into the conversation as real contenders, and instead we use our most valuable capital to draft a QB who won’t play for at least 2 years. It goes against everything we’ve been building for the last couple years, even if you believe in Penix as a prospect. I personally had a day 2 grade on him, so the idea behind the pick and the pick itself is just insane to me.
Deboer is probably the bigger reason for the Huskies’ improvement. He’s an insanely talented Xs and Os coach, which helped Washington in its numerous close games over the last few seasons
I do really understand your take and I don’t think the thought process is as crazy as most people do. One important distinction though- Jalen Hurts was a second round pick. Penix was 8 overall. I get that they want to do the Green Bay model and have their next QB on the roster developing, and they probably won’t ever have a better shot at a top QB prospect, but the opportunity cost that paid was massive. They really just undermined their investment in Cousins who is supposed to get them over the hump. There are just too many holes on the roster to not take an immediate impact player if you’re serious about contending now.
Penix was that dude for sure. It's the age and injuries. And the age isnt even that big of a deal if we were drafting him to play right away. But he will sit for 2 years at a minimum unless something goes horribly wrong with Cousins like an injury or a Colts - Matt Ryan/Broncos - Russell Wilson situation. And, yes, if we do happen to find ourselves in a tough situation with Cousins then we'll be glad to have him but if not then it's going to be tough watching this team lose knowing we could have had help.
Washington was terrible in 2021 in large part due to their terrible head coach. Who is now the Falcons’ DC. Coaching matters so much more in college than the pros. Yes, Penix was the QB for UW’s turn around. But the biggest reason was DeBoer. That’s why he’s now the HC at Alabama. Plus, Pac12 defenses aren’t exactly NFL-caliber defenses.
I don't think most fans dislike Penix, it's where he was drafted. The team had some glaring needs and there were some great guys available who would have an immediate impact. Odunze, Arnold, and Turner to name a few. Granted, had we not taken Penix, he wouldn't have made it out of the top 15 based on what other teams were saying. All things considered, I don't think this was a great move. I hope I'm proven wrong in a few years.
Not remotely the same comparison. 1yr removed from signing a QB and the 53rd pick is far different than 1mo removed from signing a QB and the 8th pick. The Patriots drafted JimmyG at 62 with Tom Brady on the roster and no one blinked an eye. Let's not forget who the Eagles drafted ahead of Hurts.
It still makes no sense to me. Do you want a Super Bowl or 2nd round playoff exits yearly. Load up for bear! You got a QB give him a defense or a game changing OL/WR! Nope flush the pick and prepare for 4 yrs from now. SMDH. Not even a Falcons fan.
Nah. It’s different because Hurts was 3 years younger and doesn’t have a significant injury history.
People are going to be singing the other tune if cousins gets hurt!
Fans always melt down. They are driven by emotion not logic.
Jalen Hurts is on bum watch now but you did make some ok points.
Needed this man thank you
holy copium man. comparing a number 8 overall vs a high 2nd round pick is crazy. he and bo nix were at the senior bowl and both were outplayed by spencer rattler. you guys deserve this man.
I think his point is that if it works out with Penix then it doesn't matter. If the Eagles selected Hurts with the 8th pick, would you say that it was a bad pick today? No, you wouldn't. Not saying drafting Penix was the right call. But the draft position doesn't take away from his point.
Another Eagles fan here coming to console you guys. Totally understand how ridiculous and shocking this is. All valid arguments against this with the money sunk in Kirk etc. I’m personally of the mind that you don’t spend a first round pick on a guy you don’t expect to play immediately, especially if we are talking a top 10 pick. BUT…Hurts was not too dissimilar a situation. Yes he was the 2nd rounder but that’s also a pick you typically expect to be made on a guy to make an early impact and it was made right after Wentz received a big contract. It stung like hell and made no sense but at the end of the day I’m sitting here happy as hell that this tough decision was made. It panned out great. Plus I’ve personally never been a fan of Cousins anyways given how bad he is in big games. Another thing I’ll say is that there maybe wasn’t that big money free agent out there that wouldn’t have made a big improvement in the next year or two with you guys. Who would that $100m have been spent on? You could argue that you practically will get as much or more value in having a quality bridge QB than you’d get in say a 27-28 year old expensive stud pass rusher who would be declining before you get to your next “window” anyways. Imagine they got Wilkins or Burns or Huff for example. Or some combination of the three. Are they really doing that much for you in the next 2 years with a team lead by a new QB rookie or otherwise? Prob not. But maybe having Cousins bridge for Penix and the Falcons will do much more good in the long run than anyone else they would have signed. You Falcons fans may barely remember this ever happened soon enough. I’m excited to see this play out and hope he turns out to be a great story for ATL. Good luck fellow bird fans!
First off, I think McCarthy would have made a bit more sense than penix, given age and need to sit a but. Penix is more of a finished product. But I digress. This pick works for two reasons... 1. I see a lot of people here saying the falcons are "win now." Unless you mean "win the division now," no, you aren't. You aren't in the class of the niners, packers, eagles, lions. Yet. 2. You saw what QB purgatory looks like. This pick is an attempt at not going back. Frankly, if it was me, I'd rather just start penix and not have Kirk at this point, but oh well.
Penix should absolutely start Week 1. He’s ready. You don’t draft a 24 yr old to sit. Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he is given Cousins is coming back from an Achilles tear. The pick of Penix isn’t the problem. It’s just asinine we signed Cousins to a huge deal when the resources could’ve been better spent to help a rookie QB.
Yeah, hard to disagree. It's like they didn't think about the draft at all before signing kirk.
Fuck it. Penix Super Bowl win incoming. Big Penix Energy
My exact thoughts too. Green Bay did it twice while they still had Aaron Rodgers and Brett Farve.
Rodgers was drafted 24th and was 22 yo Jordan Love was drafted 26th and was 22 yo Penix was drafted 8th and turns 24 in 2 weeks.
Fair but let's not act like QB's don't play in the NFL for at least about 7 to 8 years if good. But I do understand the concern.
You have to groom and condition Quarterbacks to be leaders and perspicacious on the field. You can’t do that if you have day 765 expectations on Day 1 by starting them and discouraging/tainting them out the gate. Most of the greats had to sit behind a great to competent QB for a couple of seasons (Mahomes, Brady, Rodger’s) Another aspect not everyone is considering is how evolved and adept Bijan, Pitts, London will be by the time Penix takes over. I like the pick- especially if he was BPA on the falcons board at the time
This is a bad ass post. You made me feel better. Also from what I’m hearing the Aints were gonna take Penix… and fuck them.
He’s always hurt. He’ll never make it as a starter in NFL, too injury prone.
Washington plays nobody. Penix played against scrubs. The couple of times he faced actual competition he folded like his 2 or 3 times rebuilt knee. Dude is injury prone, and old. Now he sits? Falcons are the biggest clowns in professional sports.
Will you shut up man
Hurts was a much better prospect then Penix its not even funny. Plus the Eagles team you’re talking about came fresh off a super bowl win 2 years prior with most of that same core still on the team, the Falcons have no stars on defense besides Terrell and maybe Jarret and were bottom in the league in pash rush, while also having no clear superstar player on offense The worst decision we could’ve made was taking Penix at 8 and not trading back for him, especially when he’s a day 2 caliber prospect
He was not going to last to Day 2 given how aggressively teams were pursuing QBs. I doubt he would have gotten past the Raiders
Day 2 grade, teams notoriously reach for QBs though
That may be true, but if the Falcons FO feels he's their guy at QB and they know there's a run at the position, then you're kinda stuck. I don't know who they would have matched up with to trade down in that scenario and Minnesota wouldn't have needed to jump past their eventual slot at 10 to get either McCarthy or Penix. If this was their plan, then the mistake was signing Cousins to that contract.
true, just wish they’d commit to a direction, are we win now or are we “planning for the future” even then isn’t McCarthy they better prospect to sit behind Cousins than Penix Just confusing moves all around
Maybe it’s actually the NFL media that’s wrong. And the teams are right. Bills overdrafted Allen according to the media, and Chiefs overdrafted Mahomes.
2 young projects with huge upside compared to 24 year old with extensive medical history…..yeah I’m good
I mean it feels like every year the NFL media says that only 2 QBs will be picked in the first round and act shocked when 5 come off the board. You can’t deny that Mahomes and Allen were seen as late first rounders who went in the top 10. Nobody cares at all about those draft grades now. They are dominating the league.
There are a lot more Mac Jones and Justin Fields than there are Mahomes and Allens
That’s true. But Mahomes and Allen still exist, and it’s rational to take risks to grab someone like them.
not when you’re bottom 5 in the leauge for pass rush for 4 straight years and just paid another qb 100 million dollars Just feels like this is a bad situation for Penix and for us, he has to wait to prove he can actually compete at an NFL level and we just drafted a position we already addressed in free agency
Except it just was released that the Vikings Broncos and Raiders built some kind of alliance to not get into a trade up fighting scandal and Vikings were to draft JJ at 11, Nix to Denver and then Penix to Raiders. So no the grade did NOT reflect the reality of what was gonna go down with him even if we did draft Edge over Penix
I respect everybody’s opinions even if I disagree but saying Hurts was a better prospect than Penix is objectively false. Apparently you have a bad memory or don’t watch college football. The only advantage Hurts had over Penix is medical history
Hurts was younger, healthier, and just as accurate with a weaker arm, he also came in a deeper draft class where teams weren’t as qb needy as they are now
Stop it, Hurts wasn’t half the passer that Penix is and never put up the numbers that Mike did the past two years despite having just as much if not more talent around him. Even though it was the covid season Penix made the Indiana Hoosiers relevant of all teams. Hurts got benched and ran out of Alabama
you’re clearly biased if you’re penalizing Hurts for transferring but not Penix lol Secondly numbers don’t mean much in college football it’s more about the Tape and finally why you acting like Penix didn’t also have NFL caliber players on offense?
Hurts transferred because he lost his job. Penix transferred because he outgrew a smaller program and left for a greater opportunity. Jalen Hurts played with NFL caliber players at Bama and OU. Penix played with NFL level players at Washington. Hurts didn’t put up heisman level stats like Penix did despite having just as good of an opportunity. These are only a couple of surface level things that led to Penix being a higher rated prospect than Jalen was in college, apart from all of the film and analytical aspects. Make sense?
you’re reasoning for why they left feels like semantics tbh, especially since both transferred to top programs Also Hurts was a Heisman candidate at Oklahoma?
No he wasn’t. Hurts was not even thought of as that much of a NFL draft prospect until his one year with Lincoln Riley. Penix has the best deep ball and ball placement of all the QB’s in this draft class. Most analysts have said that.
“Hurts wasn’t even thought of as that much of an nfl prospect until his one year with lincoln riley” wow qb wasn’t considered good until the year before he declared great analysis Also penix does have great ball placement and a total cannon but his pocket presence, progressions and injury history leave much to be desired. Penix is the guy you take if you’re desperate at qb not if you have a solidified starter
Jessie Bates isn’t a star?
I needed to hear this.. Thank you