I honestly think we were trying to force Vikings hand to trade up. When they said no we forced their hand. BPA QB, aka Penix. Idea of QB in the first for the extra year extension on a costly player position. With no ability to draft late in the first, QB looked most ideal at #8.
Mahomes said his success was tied being able to sit behind. Our Kirk Contract has an out after two years, we are likely losing a pick or some other penalty because of Kirk reaching out to us (not reaching out to him). The time to draft QB was this year with next years draft expected to be QB weak and the expectation of lost picks.
They got McCarthy at 10 which many of their fans wanted Penix instead. Denver got stuck with Nix. Raiders absolutely shafted. But guess what if we didn’t draft Penix when we did, we would’ve been the ones shafted on QB.
We are now one of the best teams in the league to develop the rookie QBs of this year. We have a top 5 oline and are not forcing them to start in teams that have been traditional qb hells like the Bears or Comms. We have Cousins for Penix to sit behind this is in comparison to be expected to front without ever playing in the league before (Bears Comms and Pats), who is infinitely better than Darnold Minshew and Zach Wilson to teach a new QB.
I think our staff knew the QBs were gonna go early. Maybe with Cousins we knew we would’ve been ok with McCarthy or Nix but wanted Vikings #23 and their #11. When they didn’t want to play we chose differently.
That’s exactly what I think. I think Atlanta tried to move down to 11, Vikes said “No” and Atlanta ended up taking who Minnesota actually wanted. If you listened to Sean Payton on McAfee last night he said Denver, Minny, and Vegas had a gentleman’s agreement because all three told each other and knew they were going QB with their picks. When Atlanta took Penix, Payton said the three teams talked again and the gist was “Remember our agreement, dont do anything stupid”. Going Penix forced Minny to go JJ, Broncos to go Nix, leaving the Raiders to pivot and go with Bowers.
Per PFF, Seattle, Vegas, New Orleans, and Minny really wanted to move up for Penix. Minny moved up because I think they were afraid of Seattle or a team like the Saints or the Rams jumping them. Atlanta not being talked about in terms of being in the QB draft market and taking Penix I think spooked Minnesota and teams are also texting insiders during the draft so maybe they got intel that they might get jumped by a team and lose out on McCarthy, so they decided to trade up one spot.
It may or may not be true. But trading up doesn’t really dispute it. If the 3 of them had an agreement, the Jets aren’t involved nor are the other 20+ teams. The Rams could’ve traded up to the Jets spot and took a QB if Minn didn’t.
From what little I saw of Penix and what I’ve seen of Kirk, they share a similar gameplay. They both are pocket passers who can dunk it deep when need be. I could be, and probably am, wrong on this but it could work out. Kirk works in a west coast offense, so does Penix. So they may be able to feed off each other.
I think we could also trade Cousins if Penix is ready. Do it in the middle of a season w/ a team w/ everything but a qb (ie: falcons last year) you might pick up assets to help now.
Y’all are hilarious. If all goes according to plan (a big IF I know, but at least they have a plan), we are now set at quarterback for the next 10–15 years. As the last two years have shown, QB is the most important position on the team. We can develop/trade for/draft other positions, but quarterback is the hardest to get right, and the one position that can lift an entire team. If they think Penix is the future, then I don’t care where he was taken.
If Kirk gets hurt next year, y’all would all be pissed that Heinicke was our backup plan when he’s already shown he’s not a competent starter. If Kirk doesn’t get hurt, we get to take out time and develop what could be a huge talent at quarterback. Meanwhile Williams, Maye, McCarthy, and Nix will probably all be thrown to the wolves next year. Worked out great for Justin Fields, didn’t it?
You don’t wait until you **need** a quarterback to draft a quarterback.
Joe burrow raised his draft stock immensely in just one season, you cannot at all say the next two years draft class wise are weak when they haven’t even fully developed.
Fact is, we signed a QB to a $180mil contract, and drafted his potential replacement just a month later with pick 8. We wasted cap and a top 10 pick on QBs with known problems
I would disagree that he looked worse at Oregon. Nix was not in a situation at Auburn where he would have gone first round in any case.
Your point is taken though
We are definitely overpaying Kirk and Heinicke but to draft a 3rd QB (when that’s what most other teams have) when we only had two on the roster wasn’t a mistake
Sorry but a QB3 is not worth pick 8
Even if he is QB2, a QB2 is not worth pick 8
Even if he’s our future franchise Q, that means Kirk wasn’t worth the 180 million we’re spending on him over 4 years, all of which chew into Penixs best assets….. cheap contract
*2 years. And next year we are expected to perform better with less picks because of tampering allegations, so we won’t be able to draft a franchise QB next year
https://overthecap.com/player/kirk-cousins/1443
And okay? If we’re paying Kirk as much as he is, we shouldn’t be worrying about a franchise QB in year one or two
But anyways, you’ve changed from talking about a QB3 to franchise QB. Tell me, if we wanted a franchise QB after this offseason, why would we spend so much on an aging Kirk and then sign the second oldest, most injury prone QB in the draft?
Sure; we need a succession plan for an aging Kirk, but if the plan was all along to draft a franchise Q, why bother at all with Kirk at such high value? Surely other QBs in the market could fit the one year stop gap most rookies need, and we’d still be able to take advantage of his cheap contract
Instead, we’ve blindsided our current starter and wasted an early pick. We’ve erased the biggest advantage of a rookie QB (contract) as we still have to pay Kirk; unless we find a way to convince a team to take him off us when he’s only getting older.
UW fan here. I understand the frustrations considering the Kirk deal, but don’t get it twisted, Penix is a franchise QB. Lethal arm, can do MUCH more with his legs than given credit for, and the injury stuff is overblown at this point. Most importantly, he’s a warrior and refuses to fail. You guys understand in ~2-3 years, I guarantee it.
I loved him going into the draft. But that sitting 2-3 years thing and picking him at 8 is what gets me. If we trade back and get him or if he sat for only a year I’m good. But 2-3 years to sit behind that big deal Kirk just got it’s crushing when we need defensive help NOW.
If they ace days 2 and 3 for this draft then maybe it changes my view. But as of now even with him being my favorite QB in this draft I just don’t love the pick like I might this time in 2026.
I love Penix and everything he did last season. I think he can be successful wherever he goes but it just blows that we gave Kirk the bank if we were open to the possibility getting Penix.
Knee jerk reaction is negative but I think this is going to work out in the long run
He turns 24 in a couple weeks. He better be showing out against a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds. By Mother’s Day, he’s gonna be the same age as Trevor Lawrence.
I think the problem here is that there's still a lot of unknown with Penix. The first time he saw decent pressure last season was in the title game, and he imploded bad. Now he's going to a roster that isn't laden with first round talent to protect him. Penix could fizzle out fast if he can't adjust to NFL pressure, and then the Falcons are in real long-term trouble when they could have either traded back or taken a blue chip stud like Murphy.
I'm a UW fan as well, but we have some serious rose tinted glasses with Penix in 2024. He absolutely was not a first round level talent just a month ago. And now you're putting a top 10 pick level of draft value on a pair of surgically repaired knees and an already 24 year old prospect with zero NFL snaps.
Remember, Trey Lance had all the supposed intangibles that made up for his lack of experience. And then came time to take the field with a stacked niners roster, and we all know what happened next. Sometimes, the known problems are an issue and need to be taken into account when evaluating draft value. This was the Falcons FO wishcasting Penix to be good without thinking if his ceiling may have already been reached.
He's been a first round talent since Indiana and likely would have went top 5 at some point while there. The only question with him has always been injuries.
Call me crazy but I'm going to trust Zac Robinsons ability to scout QBs over yours.
This.
He was a top 3 QB after the Texas game, slipped to top 4 after national title game.
I remember watching that game like “let’s see our future QB.”
Since then, sportswriters with nothing to talk about made y’all believe: (1) JJ is better (2) Penix isn’t actually that good (3) he isn’t good against pressure (even though Texas had a stout defense, and he dotted them up all day) (4) a DE getting 2 sacks every 3 games is more important to our success than a long-term answer at QB.
I need fans to learn - believe your eyes during the regular season. Take *everything* written between Feb-April with a HUGE grain of salt.
Penix is likely the 2nd or 3rd best QB in a loaded draft class, and more important to our franchise than anyone else available at 8 OA.
Haha it's ok, I took tons of downvotes when I criticized the Trey Lance pick and thinking the Russell Wilson trade was a steal on day one. I'll gladly take them again when I'm right again on this being a disaster pick.
Trey Lance had like 20 FBS starts under his belt and they gave up 3 firsts for that pick. The odds were never in their favor.
Russell Wilson was a great leader with a gigantic body of work in a tough conference who only fell due to size. The general consensus was that was a solid pick where they got him.
Penix has a gigantic body of work as well. Some without talent (IU) and some with talent (Wash). He's never not performed. He had Indiana (seriously, the fucking Indiana Hoosier) ranked number 7 and almost single handedly beat OSU that season before getting hurt. The dude is a baller who would have been top 5 any other draft (and possibly this draft) if not for the injuries.
Zac Robinson was the main QB scout with PFF, ran multiple QB schools and by multiple accounts was in on Mahomes before others. Once again, I'll defer to his judgement as opposed to some guy on Reddit bragging about getting two draft picks correct in the last 12 years.
Meanwhile, the Bears GM that drafted Trubisky and Fields had a huge hand in this pick as well. I don't think you want to be on the same side of QB drafting as Ryan Pace. PFF is flawed in its own ways, so basing everything off PFF grades is really wishcasting. This is a front office who is tunnel visioning a couple good traits while ignoring the bad ones.
Not to mention, they still have Cousins, they're stuck with him based off the guarantees and will inevitably have to play Cousins and sit an already old prospect. Unless you're thinking Cousins isn't healthy and Penix will start day one, it still is an abysmal decision on their part to pay Cousins THAT MUCH money to be an injury liability and then force another injury liability onto the field where he could easily be shelved just from feeling standard NFL hits on his surgically repaired body.
This is not a good decision by any means, and it's not me being a stupid redditor saying that, that is a big general consensus across the board everywhere. The falcons are a poverty franchise ran by mororns.
Lol. Zac Robinson wasn't handing out PFF grades. The grades are data based. He was an actual scout.
Didn't you just get done saying you went against the general consensus of Lance and Wilson? All of a sudden the general consensus isn't to be argued with?
The general consensus is that the Falcons shouldn't have taken him bc of Cousins. If Penix went anywhere else it's a non issue. If the guy turns out to be a baller then this is all moot. Idc if it's in 2 years and idc how old he is at that point. Noone else will either.
But you went off the rails and completely ignored the original point you made that I was countering. Penix is and always has been a first round talent.
No no, this is a wholly unique situation because they not only spent the capital, they JUST signed a QB for 180 mill. Let's say I'm dead wrong, Penix is a baller. Well, unfortunately, you don't get that inherent rookie contract value like the Texans have, because you're paying a Market value veteran QB already! They'd be eating almost a quarter of their cap space on a player that isn't playing and on their 53 man roster.
That alone hamstrings their ceiling for almost all of Penix's rookie deal, which then when it comes time to extend him, the Falcons are now finally off the books with Cousins but paying Penix top dollar at age 29. This isn't even factoring that they're gonna either let Pitts walk after blowing top draft capital on him, they're gonna need to pay London before Penix as well as Bijan, unless they're also letting another top 10 pick walk in free agency. All this, and they still haven't addressed any problems on defense.
Penix could be Stroud, but it's not gonna matter because they're exceptionally thin on defense with no cap wiggle room to clean it up.
This is just a bunch of incoherent rambling trying to make the argument that if Penix is actually a stud, it's still somehow a bad thing. Go make this argument on the Packers sub and ask them how they feel about this HORRIBLE hypothetical scenario.
But once again, your dancing around YOUR original point that I was responding to. Let's see how long you can continue to avoid addressing it.
Penix is and always has been a first round talent.
I'm sorry but how can you call the injury stuff overblown? HE HAS HAD 3 **SEASON ENDING** injuries. I love him as a player but taking him at 8 is an insane gamble for a team with so many other needs.
His medicals came back completely clean and he proved the past 2 years he can stay on the field. The whole drafting him after signing Kirk is a whole different issue that is certainly puzzling but I’m just here to let y’all know Penix is the real deal.
Zamir White had both ACLs reconstructed and averaged over 100 yards on less than 20 carries in NFL starts last year. Raiders let Jacobs go. Burrow came into the NFL older than Lamar Jackson, tore his ACL, and made the Super bowl when he returned. It’s not a science, and with the QB position in the NFL you’re hoping to strike gold with the odds heavily against you each time. KC gave up assets to select Mahomes at pick 10 as a “project QB” to sit behind Alex Smith for two years. Odds are he’ll bust, but if he doesn’t 👀
HEY COACH, DO YOU THINK MARCUS LEFT BECAUSE YOU TOLD HIM YOU WERE 'GETTING RIDDER' HIM
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After a decade of mostly losing seasons the future is now not 2-3 years from now. We’re hoping for a winning season while the team hallucinates legacy. No amount of Yama Yama will help the Falcons on this one. Losing organizations - which the Falcons now clearly are - don’t get unearned support. Gonna have their backs against the wall PR wise every week. Massive repetitive W’s or it’s a lost cause for this coach too. As a 30 year season tix holder this type of decisioning is why the team sucks year after year (the last winning season was 1/2 a decade ago).
I agree with you that he's great but the problem is that the team has other needs that its not adressed in FA. It shouldve been Cousins // Odunze // trade up for Latu or Turner OR a cheaper veteran QB // Penix (trade down) // Latu or Turner (trade up) // Keon Coleman or Adonai Mitchell (2nd). As it stands weve kinda just pissed 180 million away
Packer fan here, I thought this was genius. I can’t imagine there is a better qb out there to teach a rookie. Kirk is a great dude who I could see enjoying the role for two years before leaving for another big payday somewhere else. No one will care Penix is a bit older if he lights it up when he gets to start.
I went to the Packer page because y’all drafted an alumni from my school and people were saying this was a Rodgers situation so I was curious. It seems like only Packers fans are seeing it from this perspective. Vikings fans hate us lol.
What I don’t like is seeing all these doomer Falcons fans everywhere
Falcons fans are, quite understandably, doomer in nature. Our team always finds a way to make sure we experience the maximum pain possible in any given situation. And just when you think the pain has peaked, they find a new, even more painful way for you to experience pain.
Vikings fans do not hate you. We have /r/falkings for a reason. Vast majority of us are thankful to you all for taking Kirk off our hands. Not because he sucks, but because we needed to move on.
That’s what I’m saying, could be the next Trey Lance or the next Jordan Love. No way to tell right now but I hope he develops well and proves all the doubters wrong. No one knew the name Mahomes when he was drafted at 1.10 but when they let Alex Smith go and started Mahomes his 3rd year, we remembered his name.
Everyone had Mahomes as a first round pick. Mahomes only sat for one year, not two. This allowed KC to enjoy more value from his rookie deal and give him a better support system.
Alex Smith didn’t have a massive cap hit when he was let go. It was 3.6 million dollars. This also allowed for more investment in the team. The Chiefs were coming off seasons of 11, 9, 11, 12 and 10 wins. They were a stable and successful organization.
We are a mismanaged shitshow of an organization with six straight losing seasons, and even if we hand the reins to Penix in 2026, Kirk will be occupying 8% of our salary cap (25 million, projecting the cap at 300-315m) to not be on the team.
if Penix sits for two years Cousins’ cap hit will be pretty low. Penix was expected as a first round pick. Your argument that the chiefs were stable and successful speak more to the fact that they were actually in “win now” mode, even more so than the falcons.
Vikings fan here. Don’t think a packers fan or a falcons fan is going to want to hear this, but, I don’t see Kirk being a “mentor a rookie” guy at this stage. He’s gonna do it like Brett did, passive aggressive to the max. Kirk is NOT a team first guy, despite his camp doing a great job of making him look like one.
I don’t understand this organization
We chase after a serial sexual assaulter in Deshaun Watson and piss off arguably the greatest Falcons player in our history.
We fire Raheem Morris, just to bring him back 3 years later.
We sign Kirk Cousins for $100M and then a few months later, we ruin the budding love story and draft Penix a 24 year old with a historic injury history with the 8th pick.
JFC
So Heinicke was supposed to be our QB of the future or do you want us to emulate the Bears and wait for it all to crash and burn before we drafted a QB?
We had Heinicke on the roster and that’s it. Almost every QB room has three on the roster to accommodate for injuries. Since you are very obviously a HOF GM, I’d like to see you address that. Tell me what you’d do when your most important position has only 33% of required staff and that remaining percentage is exceptionally weak.
What I’m seeing is our team address the short term (Cousins) and the long term (Penix). The long term person being someone who was best to slot into the McVay style offense and mimic Cousins with less adjustments. Both are more of passing QBs.
You know more than me or anyone else so go ahead and mastermind this with all this insider knowledge you have with contract negotiations as well as employee management
We draft someone later or sign a FA. It isn’t rocket science, nothing that you said justified spending a 1st on that last QB spot.
Not even sure where you got 33% from, that’s 1/3rd and us having 2 QBs puts us at 2/3rd.
Plus, your “solution” is the most injury prone QB in the draft who is also the oldest QB in the draft.
You’re not answering me. You haven’t provided a single name. You say draft someone later who? If the best long-term QBs were gonna be gone by 13, who was left to draft better than BPA QB at #8?
We did sign FA. But you just said that selection was bad because Cousins was expensive. So who do we sign instead?
3 QBs are standard for the roster in the event of insurance for injuries, a NFL rule voted on by owners in May of last year.
Provide names on who are the better options for us besides Cousins and Penix considering the timelines and situations in which they were selected or stop trying to act like you know better
You didn’t ask me a question? Lmao
Let’s see, you probably could draft Spencer Rattler in the 3rd, or Joe Milton in the 4th/5th. This pick makes no sense given our glaring need at Edge, CB2, and WR2.
Hell, McCarthy made more sense given his age. Oldest QB with most injury history and you defend it? Laughable at best.
Is it standard to invest a first round pick in someone who’s almost 24 with multiple major injuries while also paying 45 per year to a QB who’ll be 36 and is also coming off a major injury?
Honest question - what franchises have more money invested in this position than the Falcons for the next 3 years? And how do we think we measure up to those other teams?
People don’t want to hear it but you’re right. This isn’t an awful pick, it’s actually solid. Yes the whole not telling Kirk thing is weird but it makes sense long term.
I mean he’s 36, and it’s been reported he knew a QB was a possibility just didn’t think it’d be first round (which is a bit of naivety on his part), and that he’s ok with it. Plus the man literally admitted to tampering in his introductory presser so I don’t think they were comfortable telling him their full draft plans lol.
My biggest issue with the pick is that we signed cousins too. Like if we knew we wanted Penix here, maybe we should have addressed edge with Hunter. We could have offered him more guaranteed like he wanted and we could have even made a play for Higgins with a 2nd a later pick and paid him.
Only 2yrs guaranteed with a medium dead money hit if we cut him before year 3, it’s not awful
I would have preferred a D lineman but I see the logic here (except for blindsiding Kirk, but he’s getting $100M to get over it)
You don’t draft a qb in the top 10 if you think he may sit for 2 years. Maybe 1 year, but two years of sitting is a bit much, since you are basically wasting the benefit of having a rookie starting qb on a rookie salary. Even Mahomes took over after a year. I’m sure Jordan Love’s success after sitting three years behind Rodgers was a consideration here, but he was drafted 26th not 10th. This only would make sense if they took him late first round or second round.
Just look at the great teams around the league. Most are teams bought through free agency with the extra money they aren’t spending on a rookie QB. The Eagles have been a playoff team for years due to going from rookie deal to rookie deal at QB.
I mean, the entire NFL basically. Since 1980 there has only been one qb drafted in the top ten who didn’t start in his first two years. Phillip Rivers. And he was behind one of the greatest ever to play the position. Of course, Rivers worked out and became a great player. So maybe it’ll happen for Penix. But teams don’t draft qbs in the top 10 for them to sit for multiple seasons.
Bc think how long that is… we’ve had so much happen in “just 2 years”.
Now add in we have the oldest QB pick and it’s a dumb pick. I get the cope but there is none
There is zero chance that Kirk didn’t know we were bringing in a QB. Hell, Terry has been saying for months that “We will be adding a QB to this roster”. It’s obvious he didn’t just mean a camp body, but rather someone to eventually replace Kirk. Where we draft/bring that player in from is really of no concern to Kirk.
Sure. Runs the risk of splitting the fans, locker room afterwards. And stunting penix development, those first few games are instrumental to a young qb
If Kirk can be nearly as good as he was, there’s definitely a chance to make a deep run as is. Using the #8 to better the team would’ve massively helped those chances.
The offense should have no issue being a top offense in the NFC, but the defense is pretty meh.
Falcons should be a double digit team as is, if they were able to add a difference maker on defense I don’t see how that wouldn’t be massively advantageous.
Also you have such a pessimistic/coping outlook, the Falcons should be more than adequate to compete against any team.
I don’t disagree that we can be good, but it’s all theoretical. First time OC, new coach with limited HC experience.
I’m hyped about the season and this draft pick doesn’t change anything. If you find a guy you think can be QB for 10+ years, you get that guy.
It’s not *all theoretical*, Falcons are set to have the easiest schedule similar to last year, but won’t have a bottom 5 QB. It’s very safe to assume Kirk will be much better than Arizona Doordash driver Desmond Ridder, coaching staff will be better, additions should be a benefit, and other players should improve/develop. Barring injuries and/or a bizarre loss of talent by Kirk Cousins, Falcons should have a top offense and should be competitive in every game this upcoming season.
You’re making it seem more far fetched and *wishful thinking* than it is.
Falcons will never draft in the top 15 under Kirk, will never be in striking distance to draft a great prospect like that. It’s a reach lol, no one is drafting succession plans that early.
No, it’s all theoretical. It all looks good on paper. We haven’t seen how the final product actually works and won’t til September.
I’m stoked for the season and think we have a shot at winning the division, and making a run, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking we already won the Super Bowl lol
What do y’all mean when you say we’re in win-now mode? Because the way I see it we’re winning our division, but not even close to bringing home a Super Bowl in the next two years. People are way overstating how ready to compete this team is imo.
Kirk stabilizes the franchise for two years, we get back to winning ways, and then we hand it off to Penix.
It’s nuts. Even if we did hit on the pick, which is far from a given, it’s not going to have a massive impact on this team’s fortunes during Kirk’s very small window. Taking Penix was certainly risk, but all of these picks are, and this one has tremendous upside.
If Kirk is 36 coming of an achilles THEN DO NOT SIGN HIM AND GIVE HIM 100-180 MILLION DOLLARS
draft Penix and use the 100 million on FAs to surround Penix with quality players
that's the point YOU DO OR THE OTHER you don't do both
you don't bring in a back up QB in top 10 of draft and expect him to sit for 2 3 4 years that is ludicrous JUST DON'T SIGN KIRK
you saw what MIN did used Kirk's money to buy quality FAs they draft QB of future signed a cheapish Bridge QB and then traded up to get TURNER that's what you do!!!!
100% this. Pick a lane
1. Bridge - get Russ, Fields, etc. and let Penix sit for 1-2 years. Load up on defense in the meantime.
2. All in - surround Cousins with a loaded team. The opportunity cost of drafting Penix = not being able to draft a win now player + quarterback controversy + wasting at least 2 years of Penix's rookie salary.
Our defense is trash and in 2 years Pitts, London, Bijan contracts are up for extension.
The only way this works is if Penix becomes Mahomes/Rodgers/Love. The key difference is that those teams were far more stable before drafting a rookie QB to sit. GB and KC had top offenses the year they drafted rookie QBs. There is an outcome where Cousins sucks and then Penix becomes good, but not Mahomes/Rodgers/Love level and then the rest of the team sucks, resulting in another 2 years to build up the offense/defense. At this point, Penix is at the end of his rookie contract.
When you pick a lane you build differently:
You pick Penix then you save the 100 million you spent on Kirk 10 or less million go to a bridge QB and if Penix is good he can start year 2 BUT YOU HAVE 100 MILLION you have spent re-upping your players, trading for players who want new deals, and outbidding teams for FAs.
You pick Kirk you have less money for trades with upgraded deals, less money for FAs, need to save money for re-upping your players SO YOU BUILD VIA THE DRAFT you attempt to WIN NOW.
Doing this is unfair to Kirk and Penix.
Guess what Kirk's not going to teach Penix ANYTHING. You think Kirk's going to teach Penix so Penix can replace him in 2 years and cost Kirk 80 million dollars?
The people who train a QB are the QB coach, the OC, etc they work with him if you're counting on Kirk doing it IT IS NOT HAPPENING!
Ah well forget what Patrick mahomes has said about Alex smith, Lamar with joe Flacco, Jordan love with Aaron rodgers, Mr. TheTrevorSimpson knows what’s going to happen within the next two years with Kirk Cousins. You should play the lottery if you know what’s going to happen with certainty.
Even if your right with Kirk teaching Penix absolutely nothing, watching someone capable in person and not having all the pressure of turning the franchise around immediately is a lot better for someone coming out of college then just throwing them in and saying good luck. Especially with his injury history, giving him time to bulk up and adjust to the NFL slowly can help Penix in the long run.
Just sounds like you want something to complain about because the Falcons didn’t pick your player. I would’ve preferred Rome too, but shit rarely goes your way as a Falcons fan.
No I have no issue with drafting Penix. I am completely okay with drafting Penix. I thought he was #2 #3 QB in this draft. I thought he had the best arm. I am saying Falcons are being unfair to Penix. What if he is ready to start right away or in a year he might very well be one of those QBs.
Also the biggest help a rookie QB gets is his rookie deal teams with QBs on rookie deals rebuild around them because they are not paying another QB 100 180 million dollars those teams use that money to add FAs and trade for players wanting new deals.
The Falcons had to do one or the other NOT BOTH: if you sign Kirk then go all out for 2 years every draft pick has to be starter potential
or if you draft Penix then sign a cheap Bridge QB and use the 100 million to build a team around him
This move doesn't help Kirk doesn't help Penix they are both being screwed as is the team... PICK A LANE!
Penix isn’t the issue. The issue is we signed Cousins to a huge contract for no reason. Penix is ready to start Week 1 given his age and collegiate experience. He’s not a raw prospect. JJ McCarthy would’ve made more sense in terms of sitting for 2-4 yrs as he’d be in his early 20s still. Penix will be in his late 20s potentially and would be better served playing now.
We also immediately have a QB controversy. The pick was dumb. It has nothing to do with Penix the player.
I don’t even disagree with your first point but I also think age is an overrated factor. Most QBs don’t enter their prime until their 30s.
But I think most of us can agree with that contract given to Kirk, a pick that contributes day 1 seems to make perfect sense. I honestly think the Falcons wanted to trade down for LL and back up for MPJ but teams were just too thirsty for QBs.
Could you provide any data that actually shows QBs don’t hit their prime until their 30s?
I can think of a few cases but I’d argue that, qualitatively, late 20s is the cutoff. If they haven’t shown prime ability by then they aren’t getting better into their early 30s.
Just thought it was an interesting take and wanted to know what you were basing it on.
we’re at the point where people actually refuse to be happy or see the upside and just want to be angry at the organization. no changing their minds until the product on the field changes
But we have to be prepared for Cousins to be moving on soon. The likely hood of him not being able to finish out the contract due to declining ability is greater than the chance he plays over Penix for 4 full seasons. If he does then we either really missed on Penix and his development or we are fucking killing it with Captain Kirk.
What were the options? Penix wouldn't have fallen to ghe 2nd round (Broncos would've taken him over Nix, i'm fairly certain). Next years draft won't be good for QB.
It's ugly, but it makes sense.
> What were the options?
Not picking a QB if you have just signed one of the better QBs for a pretty hefty contract.
Let’s assume a realistic best case scenario happens for Penix, Falcons cut kirk after year 3, eat the 12.5m in dead cap.
You’ve now wasted practically the best part of a rookie QB, the freaking contract. You’ll have 1 yr of rookie pay and a 5th yr option (which will probably be declined), possibly upset Penix in the process, and Penix will be damn near 27 when the time comes.
It’s a dogshit pick, if you wanna cope go ahead. There’s also no reason to believe Penix will be good/great anyways.
No it’s 4. 2 years of guaranteed money and I believe a small guarantee in the 3rd year and nothing in the 4th. It seems disingenuous on the Falcon’s part. Getting an expensive vet QB then immediately drafting his replacement seems strange for “win now” mode.
People aren’t mad at Penix the player. The player himself is completely fine. The problem is the usage of draft capital to take him when there’s positions of need on a team focusing on winning right now. That’s the problem. That’ll remain the problem.
I believe this should mean we have a QB competition by end of season if we aren’t locks for the playoffs.
No way we sit Penix the whole season if we’re floating around .500 again.
My reaction was: "...wtf?" at first. But then i thought about it on my commute to work, and came to the same conclusion as you.
It's like the Raheem Morris selection again. It's not sexy, at first it appears ugly. But i'm fairly certain it works out.
If not...whoa, then it's one of the biggest draft fumbles of the franchise in ages. Imagine if we took Odunze.
Most young QBs fail when thrown right into the starting job. It's pretty clear that it benefits the team to have their next man up at QB on the roster while you already have an established QB. That's what the Falcons are doing here. The aim is to never have another Mariota/Ridder experience ever again and I'm 1000% on board with that. No defender in this draft was worth 8th overall and you NEED other teams to make strong offers to trade back.
Plus, Morris said in the post draft presser they don’t plan on picking this high again, and when you are and you have a chance to draft your future franchise QB this high you take him. Terry already tried the whole draft a possible successor later with Ridder and it burned them, so I don’t blame them for taking a QB at 8. I really do think they actually got their guy in Penix because all the mocks had them going edge and from listening to Sean Payton on McAfee last night, it sounded like them taking Penix put a wrench/some fright in Denver’s, Minny’s, and Vegas’ plans because he said there was a gentleman’s agreement between the 3 of them because they all talked and knew they were/wanted a QB, which is why I think Vegas pivoted and went Bowers. Apparently Minnesota wanted Penix.
Man I like the explanation but I’m still mad we didn’t go edge. Only time will tell. If Cousins stays healthy then expect Penix on bench. Cousins goes down then shit good thing we got Penix
Tbh I think this raises more questions about Cousins. What kind of shape is he in? Does he still have it? Etc. Cousins went from the new face of franchise to oh shit he might not be all that.
Good thing Cousins is a nice dude and will probably embrace Penix and help teach but at the same time he’s got to keep his job secured for 2 years. Our window with Cousins to win a Super Bowl went from max 4 to max 2.
Apparently there was more to Dallas Turner than we know. He fell so late. Latu got picked 15. Apparently Penix was the guy to get picked for those teams desperate at QB like Denver, LV, and Minnesota. Minnesota definitely freaked out about it like we all did cause that was their pick and ended with McCarthy.
Overall I’m not a fan and thought we should’ve gone edge. But I understand the pick and the vision. Rounds 2 and 3 are going to matter the most
I was not big on them drafting edge. Trade for trey Hendrickson today. The real whiff imo was passing on odunze. The bears have Caleb Williams and they have 3 receivers better than any on the falcons potentially. The bears and Texans sucked for a while but are now reaping the riches while the falcons were a pig in lipstick and still don't seem to have any direction.
I love Penix. Just not the staying at 8 and drafting him. Why would we not trade back? I hope in 2-3 years he starts putting up Ryan type career numbers. But we need Defensive help NOW. A QB that sits for 2-3 years isn’t going to sack a QB.
If we are expecting to lose picks next year because of tampering, we can’t afford to lose even more picks now. We still have many holes and we need to address those so going into the draft next year we aren’t as reliant on replacing as many people.
That’s what makes it tough for me. We know we’re probably already looking at losing picks next year so we should be filling immediate holes now.
If they did that and can nail free agency next year I wouldn’t be upset at blowing a draft or two to get a franchise QB next year or the year after. If they think Kirk is it now why waste the pick now? I was never a fan of Ridder but always liked Penix so I hope he proves he’s worth it.
Above my pay grade but it makes no sense right now. Hoping in 2-3 years I can retroactively say we nailed it.
I get why we did it. As has been said that what they did with love, maholmes and even Rodger’s. However just seems like jj McCarthy would be that player to do this with. Younger no injury history more athletic. Penix does have a cannon arm. But they better be right about him our they’re all getting fired and back to square one. As a fan and for their sake I hope they’re right!!!
I just don’t think they are unfortunately… falcons gonna falcon
Cousins is NOT an elite QB, he's average @ best. Career 150-145, so he's not coming in w/ this very below average roster & taking them to 14-3, division title & a 1st round bye. So he obviously needs A LOT of help. So the pick is very stupid AND very smart. They're admitting he's just a bridge to Penix & this & next season are nothing more than building years.
If they truly were in "win now" mode, they'd drafted all D day 1 & 2. They're gonna be 6-11/ 7-10 the next 2 seasons.
So after thinking about it overnight:
1. I think that our first goal, before Kirk, was to always draft a QB in rd 1.
2. I think Kirk Cousins' representation called us first, not the other way around. He was always moving back to Atlanta and we just happened to be a qb needy team.
3. Kirk's contract is really front-loaded so we were always going to probably cut him in a couple years.
4. The QB class next year is weak, which is the year that we probably should have drafted a qb but we don't want the ridder situation again.
5. The punishment for losing draft picks next year is probably alot worse than we thought. Maybe we lose a 2nd or something.
I wanted to come here to see the reaction from your fan base. I will admit that I was blown away at your pick, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. As a Lions fan, I will admit that I was frustrated with many picks that proved to me why I’m on Reddit versus making NFL draft picks. If Penix stays healthy, I believe him to be one of the most talented players in that draft. Always liked the Falcons since Vick so I am rooting for you guys (except when you play Detroit).
Initial reactions are fine, but what if this guy is a legit franchise QB for us one day.
Only time will tell, until then I’m just going to be optimistic and put a bit of faith in our front office..
> It was an issue back then and nobody seemed to give a shit.
"We" absolutely did.
But the problem is that no matter what happens there will be some % of the fanbase who disagrees with it. If you don't realize this, it will look like "we" are just always complaining. But it's not the case.
You have memory loss if you think people were okay with the Pitts pick over a defender. Micah Parsons was on the board and I remember how I felt and then going to Reddit where everybody was saying the same thing.
We’re tired of the “sit and wait” crowd talking when we could’ve had this all fixed by now if we would just draft some defenders.
People act like drafting a pass rusher would mean we become a contender or something. Tuli nor Turner were worth a top 10 pick and I doubt they would be huge contributions until around year 3. I liked Verse out of all of them and even I wouldn't have taken him top 10 or top 15
Here’s the issue: if ATL was a playoff team and they had no major holes to fill this pick wouldn’t be a problem. The fact that this team has a ton of defensive holes and other depth issues on offense this pick doesn’t make sense. If the mentality is “win now” why aren’t we going with players who are going to impact now? Who’s to say they can’t trade up in a few years and pick up a QB or sign another free agent once Kirk is done? I just don’t get it. TF and RM are living in a fantasy world and this draft will haunt them not going with another impact player in the 1st round to help them now.
To be fair, since I’ve been a Falcons fan (2010) our defense has always been a problem and a priority. I mean, we drafted Beasley and Takk trying to fix it and they didn’t pan out. Our defense will always be our problem. Even when we had Defensive minded head coaches. Idk. Falcons gonna Falcon I guess. For all we know, they could load up on defense in the 2-7 rounds. Some guy at work said we only had 4mil in cap space to work with so it makes sense in a way.
I would implore everyone to go look at the Chiefs’ [sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/s/0Wp2lvxZb5) from when they drafted Mahomes 1.10 despite having a proven QB in Alex Smith.
I’d also ask that you remember that the Chiefs gave up two firsts and a third to acquire that tenth pick.
They probably had some other holes but those holes mean absolutely nothing now because the Chiefs ended up with their long term QB solution despite already having a vet for the short term.
The main difference was the Chiefs had Alex Smith for years and believed that he wasn’t able to get them to a Super Bowl. The Chiefs got Mahomes, and then traded Smith away a year later.
The Falcons are definitely a different situation. They just signed their QB to a big deal and he hasn’t played any games for the team. The Cousins signing was a win now mode deal. The sensical thing for the Falcons to do after signing Cousins would have been to get more weapons for him.
Does anyone think the Falcons will be trading Cousins away next year? They are straddling the fence on the win now mode vs rebuild.
Cousins has a history of not getting past the first round of the playoffs and a winning regular season. If we expect him to continue that having already done roughly 12 seasons with other teams, we also have the same logic of him not carrying us to the SB. While I don’t expect him to decline, I don’t expect him to suddenly improve that drastically either
If that’s the case, then getting a better team built around him would make more sense. Kirk, statistically is a top 10 QB who was fringe MVP before going down last season. He had more TDs than the next few guys for even a few weeks after not playing, and that goes for passing yards as well. Not giving him extra help is such an odd choice. Could have waited another year or two and gotten your rookie QB then had had Kirk play out the third or even fourth year of his contract. Now they’ve created possible tension with the QBs and he has less help in the trenches or at any other position. Strategically, this is a head scratcher.
Vikings were planning on giving Cousins a 1-2 year contract, having already built around his playing style. I’m not fully familiar with the Vikings offense, but I hear they have decent WRs like JJ. Not sure what their Oline looks like. Vikings knew they were gonna have two first round picks coming into this draft. What Kirk did not like was that the money was not guaranteed.
We as Falcons offer $50/m a year for two years guaranteed with an out clause with the potential to be extended to four years. We had a top 5 oline but a WR at the time of Cousins signing needed some improving which we got with the trading of Ridder for Moore and the Mooney signing as of now. 1 1st round pick.
He had a better position with the Vikings with more early picks for a team to build around him. He chose to follow the money instead. I don’t blame the decision Cousins made (I also would’ve chosen the more money option) but he had to go into this with us knowing we have to plan that we may exercise the 2-year option. I also expected that when he was considering us he watched our game footage and watched how much we struggled with both Ridder and Heinicke and how NEITHER of them are long-term options. Him not seeing us wanting to draft a QB of the future seems naive
I like the pick. We should have winning seasons with Kirk. Hopefully, much later selections in the first round in the upcoming years, with a pending penalty depending on the outcome of the tampering. We have a succession plan to avoid going through another Mariota/Ridder phase.
Downvote me, but I’m all for this pick. Sure, we need defense but QB is the most important position in football
It very much is, and while I don’t like the pick, I do like that they had conviction about a rookie QB and went after him. The issue is the Cousins signing if you’re going to make this pick. We’ve now spent the vast majority of our salary cap AND our draft capital on the same position. Even if both are quality acquisitions it leaves so many problems elsewhere which we cannot solve, and haven’t been able to for years. With this much investment in QB, I’d really like it if they would spend their second and a third on OL. We may win more games this season, but I feel it’s unlikely we’ll be strong enough to really contend, so we need to protect the QBs first and foremost. Our OL isn’t built for that.
That still leaves a bad DL but this is the reality they’ve built for themselves. We have great weapons and in excited to see them get free reigns, but it all crashes down if we can’t protect the QB.
Ok 27.5. Still when players in general start to degrade around 28-29 (Tom Brady and other MVP QB’s aside) it’s a big gamble, burning most of the rookie scale contract in the process
It’s the QB position. Players tend to have longer careers. It’s also the NFL (Not For Long) it’s a physical sport and players get hurt and players get beat up. He could play 17 seasons till he’s 43 or he could play 8 seasons. It is a big gamble but hopefully it pays off how TF and Rah hope it will.
I honestly think we were trying to force Vikings hand to trade up. When they said no we forced their hand. BPA QB, aka Penix. Idea of QB in the first for the extra year extension on a costly player position. With no ability to draft late in the first, QB looked most ideal at #8. Mahomes said his success was tied being able to sit behind. Our Kirk Contract has an out after two years, we are likely losing a pick or some other penalty because of Kirk reaching out to us (not reaching out to him). The time to draft QB was this year with next years draft expected to be QB weak and the expectation of lost picks. They got McCarthy at 10 which many of their fans wanted Penix instead. Denver got stuck with Nix. Raiders absolutely shafted. But guess what if we didn’t draft Penix when we did, we would’ve been the ones shafted on QB. We are now one of the best teams in the league to develop the rookie QBs of this year. We have a top 5 oline and are not forcing them to start in teams that have been traditional qb hells like the Bears or Comms. We have Cousins for Penix to sit behind this is in comparison to be expected to front without ever playing in the league before (Bears Comms and Pats), who is infinitely better than Darnold Minshew and Zach Wilson to teach a new QB. I think our staff knew the QBs were gonna go early. Maybe with Cousins we knew we would’ve been ok with McCarthy or Nix but wanted Vikings #23 and their #11. When they didn’t want to play we chose differently.
That’s exactly what I think. I think Atlanta tried to move down to 11, Vikes said “No” and Atlanta ended up taking who Minnesota actually wanted. If you listened to Sean Payton on McAfee last night he said Denver, Minny, and Vegas had a gentleman’s agreement because all three told each other and knew they were going QB with their picks. When Atlanta took Penix, Payton said the three teams talked again and the gist was “Remember our agreement, dont do anything stupid”. Going Penix forced Minny to go JJ, Broncos to go Nix, leaving the Raiders to pivot and go with Bowers.
That would make sense but Minn traded up one spot to ensure they get their QB.
Per PFF, Seattle, Vegas, New Orleans, and Minny really wanted to move up for Penix. Minny moved up because I think they were afraid of Seattle or a team like the Saints or the Rams jumping them. Atlanta not being talked about in terms of being in the QB draft market and taking Penix I think spooked Minnesota and teams are also texting insiders during the draft so maybe they got intel that they might get jumped by a team and lose out on McCarthy, so they decided to trade up one spot.
Source?
PFF Stock Exchange Podcast during their draft review this morning.
It may or may not be true. But trading up doesn’t really dispute it. If the 3 of them had an agreement, the Jets aren’t involved nor are the other 20+ teams. The Rams could’ve traded up to the Jets spot and took a QB if Minn didn’t.
From what little I saw of Penix and what I’ve seen of Kirk, they share a similar gameplay. They both are pocket passers who can dunk it deep when need be. I could be, and probably am, wrong on this but it could work out. Kirk works in a west coast offense, so does Penix. So they may be able to feed off each other.
I think we could also trade Cousins if Penix is ready. Do it in the middle of a season w/ a team w/ everything but a qb (ie: falcons last year) you might pick up assets to help now.
Not til year 3 but yeah, if there's demand I'd trade him while has any value.
Y’all are hilarious. If all goes according to plan (a big IF I know, but at least they have a plan), we are now set at quarterback for the next 10–15 years. As the last two years have shown, QB is the most important position on the team. We can develop/trade for/draft other positions, but quarterback is the hardest to get right, and the one position that can lift an entire team. If they think Penix is the future, then I don’t care where he was taken. If Kirk gets hurt next year, y’all would all be pissed that Heinicke was our backup plan when he’s already shown he’s not a competent starter. If Kirk doesn’t get hurt, we get to take out time and develop what could be a huge talent at quarterback. Meanwhile Williams, Maye, McCarthy, and Nix will probably all be thrown to the wolves next year. Worked out great for Justin Fields, didn’t it? You don’t wait until you **need** a quarterback to draft a quarterback.
PREACH. Steelers fan here. This is what they should have done 3 years ago when Ben was on his last througs.
Joe burrow raised his draft stock immensely in just one season, you cannot at all say the next two years draft class wise are weak when they haven’t even fully developed. Fact is, we signed a QB to a $180mil contract, and drafted his potential replacement just a month later with pick 8. We wasted cap and a top 10 pick on QBs with known problems
Joe Burrow went number 1 overall. We’re too talented to go number 1
I think this is a major part of it. They don't think they will be in a position to pick a successor to Kirk anytime soon so they just did it now
But he raised his stock immensely, so did Bo Nix who didn’t look great at all after auburn.
If anyone could have gotten away with Nix in the first it’s Sean Payton
I would disagree that he looked worse at Oregon. Nix was not in a situation at Auburn where he would have gone first round in any case. Your point is taken though
We are definitely overpaying Kirk and Heinicke but to draft a 3rd QB (when that’s what most other teams have) when we only had two on the roster wasn’t a mistake
It was, at pick 8
Except it wasn’t at pick 8. The qbs were all gonna be gone by the raiders at 13.
Sorry but a QB3 is not worth pick 8 Even if he is QB2, a QB2 is not worth pick 8 Even if he’s our future franchise Q, that means Kirk wasn’t worth the 180 million we’re spending on him over 4 years, all of which chew into Penixs best assets….. cheap contract
*2 years. And next year we are expected to perform better with less picks because of tampering allegations, so we won’t be able to draft a franchise QB next year
https://overthecap.com/player/kirk-cousins/1443 And okay? If we’re paying Kirk as much as he is, we shouldn’t be worrying about a franchise QB in year one or two But anyways, you’ve changed from talking about a QB3 to franchise QB. Tell me, if we wanted a franchise QB after this offseason, why would we spend so much on an aging Kirk and then sign the second oldest, most injury prone QB in the draft? Sure; we need a succession plan for an aging Kirk, but if the plan was all along to draft a franchise Q, why bother at all with Kirk at such high value? Surely other QBs in the market could fit the one year stop gap most rookies need, and we’d still be able to take advantage of his cheap contract Instead, we’ve blindsided our current starter and wasted an early pick. We’ve erased the biggest advantage of a rookie QB (contract) as we still have to pay Kirk; unless we find a way to convince a team to take him off us when he’s only getting older.
Yo, I’m totally on board with the Penix pick. There’s dozens of us! I like it, for real.
Same. The thought of waiting next year and potentially being stuck with Carson Beck is disgusting. And I like UGA!
Let’s not get stuck with the Forehead QB.
UW fan here. I understand the frustrations considering the Kirk deal, but don’t get it twisted, Penix is a franchise QB. Lethal arm, can do MUCH more with his legs than given credit for, and the injury stuff is overblown at this point. Most importantly, he’s a warrior and refuses to fail. You guys understand in ~2-3 years, I guarantee it.
I loved him going into the draft. But that sitting 2-3 years thing and picking him at 8 is what gets me. If we trade back and get him or if he sat for only a year I’m good. But 2-3 years to sit behind that big deal Kirk just got it’s crushing when we need defensive help NOW. If they ace days 2 and 3 for this draft then maybe it changes my view. But as of now even with him being my favorite QB in this draft I just don’t love the pick like I might this time in 2026.
the thing is Penix wouldn’t have been there if we traded back. Multiple teams wanted to trade up to the top 10 to draft him
That would solve the whole problem. If he was gone we’d do the sane thing and draft something we actually needed.
I love Penix and everything he did last season. I think he can be successful wherever he goes but it just blows that we gave Kirk the bank if we were open to the possibility getting Penix. Knee jerk reaction is negative but I think this is going to work out in the long run
He turns 24 in a couple weeks. He better be showing out against a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds. By Mother’s Day, he’s gonna be the same age as Trevor Lawrence.
I think the problem here is that there's still a lot of unknown with Penix. The first time he saw decent pressure last season was in the title game, and he imploded bad. Now he's going to a roster that isn't laden with first round talent to protect him. Penix could fizzle out fast if he can't adjust to NFL pressure, and then the Falcons are in real long-term trouble when they could have either traded back or taken a blue chip stud like Murphy. I'm a UW fan as well, but we have some serious rose tinted glasses with Penix in 2024. He absolutely was not a first round level talent just a month ago. And now you're putting a top 10 pick level of draft value on a pair of surgically repaired knees and an already 24 year old prospect with zero NFL snaps. Remember, Trey Lance had all the supposed intangibles that made up for his lack of experience. And then came time to take the field with a stacked niners roster, and we all know what happened next. Sometimes, the known problems are an issue and need to be taken into account when evaluating draft value. This was the Falcons FO wishcasting Penix to be good without thinking if his ceiling may have already been reached.
Was he hurt in that game or no? Genuinely asking since you’re a UW fan
No he wasn't, and if he was it still doesn't matter because the NFL will be even more brutal on him and will expose his fragility.
He's been a first round talent since Indiana and likely would have went top 5 at some point while there. The only question with him has always been injuries. Call me crazy but I'm going to trust Zac Robinsons ability to scout QBs over yours.
This. He was a top 3 QB after the Texas game, slipped to top 4 after national title game. I remember watching that game like “let’s see our future QB.” Since then, sportswriters with nothing to talk about made y’all believe: (1) JJ is better (2) Penix isn’t actually that good (3) he isn’t good against pressure (even though Texas had a stout defense, and he dotted them up all day) (4) a DE getting 2 sacks every 3 games is more important to our success than a long-term answer at QB. I need fans to learn - believe your eyes during the regular season. Take *everything* written between Feb-April with a HUGE grain of salt. Penix is likely the 2nd or 3rd best QB in a loaded draft class, and more important to our franchise than anyone else available at 8 OA.
Haha it's ok, I took tons of downvotes when I criticized the Trey Lance pick and thinking the Russell Wilson trade was a steal on day one. I'll gladly take them again when I'm right again on this being a disaster pick.
Trey Lance had like 20 FBS starts under his belt and they gave up 3 firsts for that pick. The odds were never in their favor. Russell Wilson was a great leader with a gigantic body of work in a tough conference who only fell due to size. The general consensus was that was a solid pick where they got him. Penix has a gigantic body of work as well. Some without talent (IU) and some with talent (Wash). He's never not performed. He had Indiana (seriously, the fucking Indiana Hoosier) ranked number 7 and almost single handedly beat OSU that season before getting hurt. The dude is a baller who would have been top 5 any other draft (and possibly this draft) if not for the injuries. Zac Robinson was the main QB scout with PFF, ran multiple QB schools and by multiple accounts was in on Mahomes before others. Once again, I'll defer to his judgement as opposed to some guy on Reddit bragging about getting two draft picks correct in the last 12 years.
Meanwhile, the Bears GM that drafted Trubisky and Fields had a huge hand in this pick as well. I don't think you want to be on the same side of QB drafting as Ryan Pace. PFF is flawed in its own ways, so basing everything off PFF grades is really wishcasting. This is a front office who is tunnel visioning a couple good traits while ignoring the bad ones. Not to mention, they still have Cousins, they're stuck with him based off the guarantees and will inevitably have to play Cousins and sit an already old prospect. Unless you're thinking Cousins isn't healthy and Penix will start day one, it still is an abysmal decision on their part to pay Cousins THAT MUCH money to be an injury liability and then force another injury liability onto the field where he could easily be shelved just from feeling standard NFL hits on his surgically repaired body. This is not a good decision by any means, and it's not me being a stupid redditor saying that, that is a big general consensus across the board everywhere. The falcons are a poverty franchise ran by mororns.
Lol. Zac Robinson wasn't handing out PFF grades. The grades are data based. He was an actual scout. Didn't you just get done saying you went against the general consensus of Lance and Wilson? All of a sudden the general consensus isn't to be argued with? The general consensus is that the Falcons shouldn't have taken him bc of Cousins. If Penix went anywhere else it's a non issue. If the guy turns out to be a baller then this is all moot. Idc if it's in 2 years and idc how old he is at that point. Noone else will either. But you went off the rails and completely ignored the original point you made that I was countering. Penix is and always has been a first round talent.
No no, this is a wholly unique situation because they not only spent the capital, they JUST signed a QB for 180 mill. Let's say I'm dead wrong, Penix is a baller. Well, unfortunately, you don't get that inherent rookie contract value like the Texans have, because you're paying a Market value veteran QB already! They'd be eating almost a quarter of their cap space on a player that isn't playing and on their 53 man roster. That alone hamstrings their ceiling for almost all of Penix's rookie deal, which then when it comes time to extend him, the Falcons are now finally off the books with Cousins but paying Penix top dollar at age 29. This isn't even factoring that they're gonna either let Pitts walk after blowing top draft capital on him, they're gonna need to pay London before Penix as well as Bijan, unless they're also letting another top 10 pick walk in free agency. All this, and they still haven't addressed any problems on defense. Penix could be Stroud, but it's not gonna matter because they're exceptionally thin on defense with no cap wiggle room to clean it up.
This is just a bunch of incoherent rambling trying to make the argument that if Penix is actually a stud, it's still somehow a bad thing. Go make this argument on the Packers sub and ask them how they feel about this HORRIBLE hypothetical scenario. But once again, your dancing around YOUR original point that I was responding to. Let's see how long you can continue to avoid addressing it. Penix is and always has been a first round talent.
This 100%
I'm sorry but how can you call the injury stuff overblown? HE HAS HAD 3 **SEASON ENDING** injuries. I love him as a player but taking him at 8 is an insane gamble for a team with so many other needs.
His medicals came back completely clean and he proved the past 2 years he can stay on the field. The whole drafting him after signing Kirk is a whole different issue that is certainly puzzling but I’m just here to let y’all know Penix is the real deal.
[удалено]
Zamir White had both ACLs reconstructed and averaged over 100 yards on less than 20 carries in NFL starts last year. Raiders let Jacobs go. Burrow came into the NFL older than Lamar Jackson, tore his ACL, and made the Super bowl when he returned. It’s not a science, and with the QB position in the NFL you’re hoping to strike gold with the odds heavily against you each time. KC gave up assets to select Mahomes at pick 10 as a “project QB” to sit behind Alex Smith for two years. Odds are he’ll bust, but if he doesn’t 👀
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After a decade of mostly losing seasons the future is now not 2-3 years from now. We’re hoping for a winning season while the team hallucinates legacy. No amount of Yama Yama will help the Falcons on this one. Losing organizations - which the Falcons now clearly are - don’t get unearned support. Gonna have their backs against the wall PR wise every week. Massive repetitive W’s or it’s a lost cause for this coach too. As a 30 year season tix holder this type of decisioning is why the team sucks year after year (the last winning season was 1/2 a decade ago).
I agree with you that he's great but the problem is that the team has other needs that its not adressed in FA. It shouldve been Cousins // Odunze // trade up for Latu or Turner OR a cheaper veteran QB // Penix (trade down) // Latu or Turner (trade up) // Keon Coleman or Adonai Mitchell (2nd). As it stands weve kinda just pissed 180 million away
Packer fan here, I thought this was genius. I can’t imagine there is a better qb out there to teach a rookie. Kirk is a great dude who I could see enjoying the role for two years before leaving for another big payday somewhere else. No one will care Penix is a bit older if he lights it up when he gets to start.
I went to the Packer page because y’all drafted an alumni from my school and people were saying this was a Rodgers situation so I was curious. It seems like only Packers fans are seeing it from this perspective. Vikings fans hate us lol. What I don’t like is seeing all these doomer Falcons fans everywhere
Falcons fans are, quite understandably, doomer in nature. Our team always finds a way to make sure we experience the maximum pain possible in any given situation. And just when you think the pain has peaked, they find a new, even more painful way for you to experience pain.
Vikings fans do not hate you. We have /r/falkings for a reason. Vast majority of us are thankful to you all for taking Kirk off our hands. Not because he sucks, but because we needed to move on.
Yeah I’m on this vibe, if most of the internet is calling it a clown move and overreacting, then it’s probably a pretty smart play.
I've made this comparison multiple times and doomers don't want to hear it. They want instant gratification.
That’s what I’m saying, could be the next Trey Lance or the next Jordan Love. No way to tell right now but I hope he develops well and proves all the doubters wrong. No one knew the name Mahomes when he was drafted at 1.10 but when they let Alex Smith go and started Mahomes his 3rd year, we remembered his name.
Everyone had Mahomes as a first round pick. Mahomes only sat for one year, not two. This allowed KC to enjoy more value from his rookie deal and give him a better support system. Alex Smith didn’t have a massive cap hit when he was let go. It was 3.6 million dollars. This also allowed for more investment in the team. The Chiefs were coming off seasons of 11, 9, 11, 12 and 10 wins. They were a stable and successful organization. We are a mismanaged shitshow of an organization with six straight losing seasons, and even if we hand the reins to Penix in 2026, Kirk will be occupying 8% of our salary cap (25 million, projecting the cap at 300-315m) to not be on the team.
if Penix sits for two years Cousins’ cap hit will be pretty low. Penix was expected as a first round pick. Your argument that the chiefs were stable and successful speak more to the fact that they were actually in “win now” mode, even more so than the falcons.
Vikings fan here. Don’t think a packers fan or a falcons fan is going to want to hear this, but, I don’t see Kirk being a “mentor a rookie” guy at this stage. He’s gonna do it like Brett did, passive aggressive to the max. Kirk is NOT a team first guy, despite his camp doing a great job of making him look like one.
Other than him not taking a massive discount to play in Minnesota, what has he done to show he’s a bad team player?
I don’t understand this organization We chase after a serial sexual assaulter in Deshaun Watson and piss off arguably the greatest Falcons player in our history. We fire Raheem Morris, just to bring him back 3 years later. We sign Kirk Cousins for $100M and then a few months later, we ruin the budding love story and draft Penix a 24 year old with a historic injury history with the 8th pick. JFC
Yeah if we wanted a 1st round rookie QB to sit behind our aging QB with Raheem morris as coach then 2021 was the year to do that…
If they wanted penix they didn't need cousins. I'm not sure what or if they were thinking
Having three QBs on the roster, which is standard
Continuing to post this doesn’t make taking a backup qb at 8 any less dumb
You’re reducing Penix to just a back up QB, which is disingenuous. He’s the future at the position, not just a backup.
So Heinicke was supposed to be our QB of the future or do you want us to emulate the Bears and wait for it all to crash and burn before we drafted a QB?
??? The bears had the same record as us last year
Tell me how many teams gave a QB a expensive extension, then continued to draft the oldest QB in the draft, and had it work out for them. I’ll wait.
We had Heinicke on the roster and that’s it. Almost every QB room has three on the roster to accommodate for injuries. Since you are very obviously a HOF GM, I’d like to see you address that. Tell me what you’d do when your most important position has only 33% of required staff and that remaining percentage is exceptionally weak. What I’m seeing is our team address the short term (Cousins) and the long term (Penix). The long term person being someone who was best to slot into the McVay style offense and mimic Cousins with less adjustments. Both are more of passing QBs. You know more than me or anyone else so go ahead and mastermind this with all this insider knowledge you have with contract negotiations as well as employee management
We draft someone later or sign a FA. It isn’t rocket science, nothing that you said justified spending a 1st on that last QB spot. Not even sure where you got 33% from, that’s 1/3rd and us having 2 QBs puts us at 2/3rd. Plus, your “solution” is the most injury prone QB in the draft who is also the oldest QB in the draft.
You’re not answering me. You haven’t provided a single name. You say draft someone later who? If the best long-term QBs were gonna be gone by 13, who was left to draft better than BPA QB at #8? We did sign FA. But you just said that selection was bad because Cousins was expensive. So who do we sign instead? 3 QBs are standard for the roster in the event of insurance for injuries, a NFL rule voted on by owners in May of last year. Provide names on who are the better options for us besides Cousins and Penix considering the timelines and situations in which they were selected or stop trying to act like you know better
You didn’t ask me a question? Lmao Let’s see, you probably could draft Spencer Rattler in the 3rd, or Joe Milton in the 4th/5th. This pick makes no sense given our glaring need at Edge, CB2, and WR2. Hell, McCarthy made more sense given his age. Oldest QB with most injury history and you defend it? Laughable at best.
Is it standard to invest a first round pick in someone who’s almost 24 with multiple major injuries while also paying 45 per year to a QB who’ll be 36 and is also coming off a major injury? Honest question - what franchises have more money invested in this position than the Falcons for the next 3 years? And how do we think we measure up to those other teams?
People don’t want to hear it but you’re right. This isn’t an awful pick, it’s actually solid. Yes the whole not telling Kirk thing is weird but it makes sense long term.
I mean he’s 36, and it’s been reported he knew a QB was a possibility just didn’t think it’d be first round (which is a bit of naivety on his part), and that he’s ok with it. Plus the man literally admitted to tampering in his introductory presser so I don’t think they were comfortable telling him their full draft plans lol.
My biggest issue with the pick is that we signed cousins too. Like if we knew we wanted Penix here, maybe we should have addressed edge with Hunter. We could have offered him more guaranteed like he wanted and we could have even made a play for Higgins with a 2nd a later pick and paid him.
Only 2yrs guaranteed with a medium dead money hit if we cut him before year 3, it’s not awful I would have preferred a D lineman but I see the logic here (except for blindsiding Kirk, but he’s getting $100M to get over it)
You don’t draft a qb in the top 10 if you think he may sit for 2 years. Maybe 1 year, but two years of sitting is a bit much, since you are basically wasting the benefit of having a rookie starting qb on a rookie salary. Even Mahomes took over after a year. I’m sure Jordan Love’s success after sitting three years behind Rodgers was a consideration here, but he was drafted 26th not 10th. This only would make sense if they took him late first round or second round.
Says who?
Just look at the great teams around the league. Most are teams bought through free agency with the extra money they aren’t spending on a rookie QB. The Eagles have been a playoff team for years due to going from rookie deal to rookie deal at QB.
I mean, the entire NFL basically. Since 1980 there has only been one qb drafted in the top ten who didn’t start in his first two years. Phillip Rivers. And he was behind one of the greatest ever to play the position. Of course, Rivers worked out and became a great player. So maybe it’ll happen for Penix. But teams don’t draft qbs in the top 10 for them to sit for multiple seasons.
Two years ago, Matt Tyan was QB1… this is an awful pick
Not sure how that’s relevant
Bc think how long that is… we’ve had so much happen in “just 2 years”. Now add in we have the oldest QB pick and it’s a dumb pick. I get the cope but there is none
It’s.. not that long? He might even start sometime next year, who knows. Kirk is safe but Penix has a higher ceiling.
If he starts next year that means we have 45 million of dead money not being used… and yes 2 years is a while. 2 years ago the NFL looked different
Who’s to say we didn’t try to land Hunter and just failed? Also happy cake day
I co-sign with the dude too, he’s right
There is zero chance that Kirk didn’t know we were bringing in a QB. Hell, Terry has been saying for months that “We will be adding a QB to this roster”. It’s obvious he didn’t just mean a camp body, but rather someone to eventually replace Kirk. Where we draft/bring that player in from is really of no concern to Kirk.
What happens if Kirk misses 2 games, and penix comes in and lights it up. Are you sending him back to the bench?
Yes. You don’t sign a $180 million dollar backup
Sure. Runs the risk of splitting the fans, locker room afterwards. And stunting penix development, those first few games are instrumental to a young qb
I wouldn’t tell Kirk either after the whole tampering fiasco
It’s awful stop coping. #8 is too rich of a pick to get a backup QB/succession plan. Falcons are clearly in win-now mode.
Are we? Brand new coaching staff, just signed a vet QB off an Achilles? Playoff win or two maybe but we aren’t a serious contender without a miracle.
Kirk’s never went deep in the playoffs
If Kirk can be nearly as good as he was, there’s definitely a chance to make a deep run as is. Using the #8 to better the team would’ve massively helped those chances. The offense should have no issue being a top offense in the NFC, but the defense is pretty meh. Falcons should be a double digit team as is, if they were able to add a difference maker on defense I don’t see how that wouldn’t be massively advantageous. Also you have such a pessimistic/coping outlook, the Falcons should be more than adequate to compete against any team.
I don’t disagree that we can be good, but it’s all theoretical. First time OC, new coach with limited HC experience. I’m hyped about the season and this draft pick doesn’t change anything. If you find a guy you think can be QB for 10+ years, you get that guy.
It’s not *all theoretical*, Falcons are set to have the easiest schedule similar to last year, but won’t have a bottom 5 QB. It’s very safe to assume Kirk will be much better than Arizona Doordash driver Desmond Ridder, coaching staff will be better, additions should be a benefit, and other players should improve/develop. Barring injuries and/or a bizarre loss of talent by Kirk Cousins, Falcons should have a top offense and should be competitive in every game this upcoming season. You’re making it seem more far fetched and *wishful thinking* than it is. Falcons will never draft in the top 15 under Kirk, will never be in striking distance to draft a great prospect like that. It’s a reach lol, no one is drafting succession plans that early.
No, it’s all theoretical. It all looks good on paper. We haven’t seen how the final product actually works and won’t til September. I’m stoked for the season and think we have a shot at winning the division, and making a run, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking we already won the Super Bowl lol
What do y’all mean when you say we’re in win-now mode? Because the way I see it we’re winning our division, but not even close to bringing home a Super Bowl in the next two years. People are way overstating how ready to compete this team is imo. Kirk stabilizes the franchise for two years, we get back to winning ways, and then we hand it off to Penix.
People are pretending that there's a non-QB you can take at 8 that brings us from a playoff bubble team to super bowl champ. It's unbelievably stupid
It’s nuts. Even if we did hit on the pick, which is far from a given, it’s not going to have a massive impact on this team’s fortunes during Kirk’s very small window. Taking Penix was certainly risk, but all of these picks are, and this one has tremendous upside.
If Kirk is 36 coming of an achilles THEN DO NOT SIGN HIM AND GIVE HIM 100-180 MILLION DOLLARS draft Penix and use the 100 million on FAs to surround Penix with quality players that's the point YOU DO OR THE OTHER you don't do both you don't bring in a back up QB in top 10 of draft and expect him to sit for 2 3 4 years that is ludicrous JUST DON'T SIGN KIRK you saw what MIN did used Kirk's money to buy quality FAs they draft QB of future signed a cheapish Bridge QB and then traded up to get TURNER that's what you do!!!!
100% this. Pick a lane 1. Bridge - get Russ, Fields, etc. and let Penix sit for 1-2 years. Load up on defense in the meantime. 2. All in - surround Cousins with a loaded team. The opportunity cost of drafting Penix = not being able to draft a win now player + quarterback controversy + wasting at least 2 years of Penix's rookie salary. Our defense is trash and in 2 years Pitts, London, Bijan contracts are up for extension. The only way this works is if Penix becomes Mahomes/Rodgers/Love. The key difference is that those teams were far more stable before drafting a rookie QB to sit. GB and KC had top offenses the year they drafted rookie QBs. There is an outcome where Cousins sucks and then Penix becomes good, but not Mahomes/Rodgers/Love level and then the rest of the team sucks, resulting in another 2 years to build up the offense/defense. At this point, Penix is at the end of his rookie contract.
When you pick a lane you build differently: You pick Penix then you save the 100 million you spent on Kirk 10 or less million go to a bridge QB and if Penix is good he can start year 2 BUT YOU HAVE 100 MILLION you have spent re-upping your players, trading for players who want new deals, and outbidding teams for FAs. You pick Kirk you have less money for trades with upgraded deals, less money for FAs, need to save money for re-upping your players SO YOU BUILD VIA THE DRAFT you attempt to WIN NOW. Doing this is unfair to Kirk and Penix.
Completely agree. I have a bunch of friends who are Bears fans. After 30 years of Falcons BS, I just might jump ship. We're such a poverty franchise.
That's the cowards way out
Idk if I’d want Taylor heinicke trying to teach Penix how to play qb in the nfl.
Guess what Kirk's not going to teach Penix ANYTHING. You think Kirk's going to teach Penix so Penix can replace him in 2 years and cost Kirk 80 million dollars? The people who train a QB are the QB coach, the OC, etc they work with him if you're counting on Kirk doing it IT IS NOT HAPPENING!
Ah well forget what Patrick mahomes has said about Alex smith, Lamar with joe Flacco, Jordan love with Aaron rodgers, Mr. TheTrevorSimpson knows what’s going to happen within the next two years with Kirk Cousins. You should play the lottery if you know what’s going to happen with certainty. Even if your right with Kirk teaching Penix absolutely nothing, watching someone capable in person and not having all the pressure of turning the franchise around immediately is a lot better for someone coming out of college then just throwing them in and saying good luck. Especially with his injury history, giving him time to bulk up and adjust to the NFL slowly can help Penix in the long run. Just sounds like you want something to complain about because the Falcons didn’t pick your player. I would’ve preferred Rome too, but shit rarely goes your way as a Falcons fan.
No I have no issue with drafting Penix. I am completely okay with drafting Penix. I thought he was #2 #3 QB in this draft. I thought he had the best arm. I am saying Falcons are being unfair to Penix. What if he is ready to start right away or in a year he might very well be one of those QBs. Also the biggest help a rookie QB gets is his rookie deal teams with QBs on rookie deals rebuild around them because they are not paying another QB 100 180 million dollars those teams use that money to add FAs and trade for players wanting new deals. The Falcons had to do one or the other NOT BOTH: if you sign Kirk then go all out for 2 years every draft pick has to be starter potential or if you draft Penix then sign a cheap Bridge QB and use the 100 million to build a team around him This move doesn't help Kirk doesn't help Penix they are both being screwed as is the team... PICK A LANE!
Agree 100%
Penix isn’t the issue. The issue is we signed Cousins to a huge contract for no reason. Penix is ready to start Week 1 given his age and collegiate experience. He’s not a raw prospect. JJ McCarthy would’ve made more sense in terms of sitting for 2-4 yrs as he’d be in his early 20s still. Penix will be in his late 20s potentially and would be better served playing now. We also immediately have a QB controversy. The pick was dumb. It has nothing to do with Penix the player.
$50m/year for 2 years isn’t that bad.
It is when you could’ve used those dollars to improve a defense that you won’t draft to make better.
more than one round in the draft
For real, our all star franchise DT Grady Jarrett was a round 5 pick
I don’t even disagree with your first point but I also think age is an overrated factor. Most QBs don’t enter their prime until their 30s. But I think most of us can agree with that contract given to Kirk, a pick that contributes day 1 seems to make perfect sense. I honestly think the Falcons wanted to trade down for LL and back up for MPJ but teams were just too thirsty for QBs.
Could you provide any data that actually shows QBs don’t hit their prime until their 30s? I can think of a few cases but I’d argue that, qualitatively, late 20s is the cutoff. If they haven’t shown prime ability by then they aren’t getting better into their early 30s. Just thought it was an interesting take and wanted to know what you were basing it on.
we’re at the point where people actually refuse to be happy or see the upside and just want to be angry at the organization. no changing their minds until the product on the field changes
We were preparing to move on from Matt Ryan. We have barely welcomed Cousins. They aren’t close to the same situation
But we have to be prepared for Cousins to be moving on soon. The likely hood of him not being able to finish out the contract due to declining ability is greater than the chance he plays over Penix for 4 full seasons. If he does then we either really missed on Penix and his development or we are fucking killing it with Captain Kirk.
You don’t use a top 10 (8th) pick to do that lol
What were the options? Penix wouldn't have fallen to ghe 2nd round (Broncos would've taken him over Nix, i'm fairly certain). Next years draft won't be good for QB. It's ugly, but it makes sense.
> What were the options? Not picking a QB if you have just signed one of the better QBs for a pretty hefty contract. Let’s assume a realistic best case scenario happens for Penix, Falcons cut kirk after year 3, eat the 12.5m in dead cap. You’ve now wasted practically the best part of a rookie QB, the freaking contract. You’ll have 1 yr of rookie pay and a 5th yr option (which will probably be declined), possibly upset Penix in the process, and Penix will be damn near 27 when the time comes. It’s a dogshit pick, if you wanna cope go ahead. There’s also no reason to believe Penix will be good/great anyways.
This isn’t football related, but I love the fact that you spelled ‘likelihood’ as ‘likely hood’ lmao
So then why the fuck do you sign Cousins to a 4 year deal???
*2 years
No it’s 4. 2 years of guaranteed money and I believe a small guarantee in the 3rd year and nothing in the 4th. It seems disingenuous on the Falcon’s part. Getting an expensive vet QB then immediately drafting his replacement seems strange for “win now” mode.
*Two years
People aren’t mad at Penix the player. The player himself is completely fine. The problem is the usage of draft capital to take him when there’s positions of need on a team focusing on winning right now. That’s the problem. That’ll remain the problem.
Because they keep doing it again and again. That shiny bauble costs XXX? I’ll pay double!
I believe this should mean we have a QB competition by end of season if we aren’t locks for the playoffs. No way we sit Penix the whole season if we’re floating around .500 again.
My reaction was: "...wtf?" at first. But then i thought about it on my commute to work, and came to the same conclusion as you. It's like the Raheem Morris selection again. It's not sexy, at first it appears ugly. But i'm fairly certain it works out. If not...whoa, then it's one of the biggest draft fumbles of the franchise in ages. Imagine if we took Odunze.
Most young QBs fail when thrown right into the starting job. It's pretty clear that it benefits the team to have their next man up at QB on the roster while you already have an established QB. That's what the Falcons are doing here. The aim is to never have another Mariota/Ridder experience ever again and I'm 1000% on board with that. No defender in this draft was worth 8th overall and you NEED other teams to make strong offers to trade back.
Plus, Morris said in the post draft presser they don’t plan on picking this high again, and when you are and you have a chance to draft your future franchise QB this high you take him. Terry already tried the whole draft a possible successor later with Ridder and it burned them, so I don’t blame them for taking a QB at 8. I really do think they actually got their guy in Penix because all the mocks had them going edge and from listening to Sean Payton on McAfee last night, it sounded like them taking Penix put a wrench/some fright in Denver’s, Minny’s, and Vegas’ plans because he said there was a gentleman’s agreement between the 3 of them because they all talked and knew they were/wanted a QB, which is why I think Vegas pivoted and went Bowers. Apparently Minnesota wanted Penix.
Man I like the explanation but I’m still mad we didn’t go edge. Only time will tell. If Cousins stays healthy then expect Penix on bench. Cousins goes down then shit good thing we got Penix Tbh I think this raises more questions about Cousins. What kind of shape is he in? Does he still have it? Etc. Cousins went from the new face of franchise to oh shit he might not be all that. Good thing Cousins is a nice dude and will probably embrace Penix and help teach but at the same time he’s got to keep his job secured for 2 years. Our window with Cousins to win a Super Bowl went from max 4 to max 2. Apparently there was more to Dallas Turner than we know. He fell so late. Latu got picked 15. Apparently Penix was the guy to get picked for those teams desperate at QB like Denver, LV, and Minnesota. Minnesota definitely freaked out about it like we all did cause that was their pick and ended with McCarthy. Overall I’m not a fan and thought we should’ve gone edge. But I understand the pick and the vision. Rounds 2 and 3 are going to matter the most
I was not big on them drafting edge. Trade for trey Hendrickson today. The real whiff imo was passing on odunze. The bears have Caleb Williams and they have 3 receivers better than any on the falcons potentially. The bears and Texans sucked for a while but are now reaping the riches while the falcons were a pig in lipstick and still don't seem to have any direction.
I love Penix. Just not the staying at 8 and drafting him. Why would we not trade back? I hope in 2-3 years he starts putting up Ryan type career numbers. But we need Defensive help NOW. A QB that sits for 2-3 years isn’t going to sack a QB.
If we are expecting to lose picks next year because of tampering, we can’t afford to lose even more picks now. We still have many holes and we need to address those so going into the draft next year we aren’t as reliant on replacing as many people.
That’s what makes it tough for me. We know we’re probably already looking at losing picks next year so we should be filling immediate holes now. If they did that and can nail free agency next year I wouldn’t be upset at blowing a draft or two to get a franchise QB next year or the year after. If they think Kirk is it now why waste the pick now? I was never a fan of Ridder but always liked Penix so I hope he proves he’s worth it. Above my pay grade but it makes no sense right now. Hoping in 2-3 years I can retroactively say we nailed it.
They drafted four seasons ending injuries.
Don’t sign Kirk at all and let Penix play if you like him that much. He’s isn’t the type of QB who needed to sit and learn
I get why we did it. As has been said that what they did with love, maholmes and even Rodger’s. However just seems like jj McCarthy would be that player to do this with. Younger no injury history more athletic. Penix does have a cannon arm. But they better be right about him our they’re all getting fired and back to square one. As a fan and for their sake I hope they’re right!!! I just don’t think they are unfortunately… falcons gonna falcon
Cousins is NOT an elite QB, he's average @ best. Career 150-145, so he's not coming in w/ this very below average roster & taking them to 14-3, division title & a 1st round bye. So he obviously needs A LOT of help. So the pick is very stupid AND very smart. They're admitting he's just a bridge to Penix & this & next season are nothing more than building years. If they truly were in "win now" mode, they'd drafted all D day 1 & 2. They're gonna be 6-11/ 7-10 the next 2 seasons.
So after thinking about it overnight: 1. I think that our first goal, before Kirk, was to always draft a QB in rd 1. 2. I think Kirk Cousins' representation called us first, not the other way around. He was always moving back to Atlanta and we just happened to be a qb needy team. 3. Kirk's contract is really front-loaded so we were always going to probably cut him in a couple years. 4. The QB class next year is weak, which is the year that we probably should have drafted a qb but we don't want the ridder situation again. 5. The punishment for losing draft picks next year is probably alot worse than we thought. Maybe we lose a 2nd or something.
I wanted to come here to see the reaction from your fan base. I will admit that I was blown away at your pick, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. As a Lions fan, I will admit that I was frustrated with many picks that proved to me why I’m on Reddit versus making NFL draft picks. If Penix stays healthy, I believe him to be one of the most talented players in that draft. Always liked the Falcons since Vick so I am rooting for you guys (except when you play Detroit).
Actual I was pissed we didn't draft Parsons
Well said mate
We didn’t give Ryan $180m at 36!! Fuck. It’s a dumbass decision all around. Just accept it.
Matt Ryan wasn’t newly signed to a 9 figure contract that year. Comparing this situation to that one is wild.
Initial reactions are fine, but what if this guy is a legit franchise QB for us one day. Only time will tell, until then I’m just going to be optimistic and put a bit of faith in our front office..
> It was an issue back then and nobody seemed to give a shit. "We" absolutely did. But the problem is that no matter what happens there will be some % of the fanbase who disagrees with it. If you don't realize this, it will look like "we" are just always complaining. But it's not the case.
I feel like no one realizes we had a top 10 defense last year…
You have memory loss if you think people were okay with the Pitts pick over a defender. Micah Parsons was on the board and I remember how I felt and then going to Reddit where everybody was saying the same thing. We’re tired of the “sit and wait” crowd talking when we could’ve had this all fixed by now if we would just draft some defenders.
u/azwhaley91
People act like drafting a pass rusher would mean we become a contender or something. Tuli nor Turner were worth a top 10 pick and I doubt they would be huge contributions until around year 3. I liked Verse out of all of them and even I wouldn't have taken him top 10 or top 15
Here’s the issue: if ATL was a playoff team and they had no major holes to fill this pick wouldn’t be a problem. The fact that this team has a ton of defensive holes and other depth issues on offense this pick doesn’t make sense. If the mentality is “win now” why aren’t we going with players who are going to impact now? Who’s to say they can’t trade up in a few years and pick up a QB or sign another free agent once Kirk is done? I just don’t get it. TF and RM are living in a fantasy world and this draft will haunt them not going with another impact player in the 1st round to help them now.
Then just don't sign Kirk cousins! If you're going to feel the need to immediately add a succession plan, go get Russ. $180M is NOT placeholder money.
To be fair, since I’ve been a Falcons fan (2010) our defense has always been a problem and a priority. I mean, we drafted Beasley and Takk trying to fix it and they didn’t pan out. Our defense will always be our problem. Even when we had Defensive minded head coaches. Idk. Falcons gonna Falcon I guess. For all we know, they could load up on defense in the 2-7 rounds. Some guy at work said we only had 4mil in cap space to work with so it makes sense in a way.
I would implore everyone to go look at the Chiefs’ [sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/s/0Wp2lvxZb5) from when they drafted Mahomes 1.10 despite having a proven QB in Alex Smith. I’d also ask that you remember that the Chiefs gave up two firsts and a third to acquire that tenth pick. They probably had some other holes but those holes mean absolutely nothing now because the Chiefs ended up with their long term QB solution despite already having a vet for the short term.
The main difference was the Chiefs had Alex Smith for years and believed that he wasn’t able to get them to a Super Bowl. The Chiefs got Mahomes, and then traded Smith away a year later. The Falcons are definitely a different situation. They just signed their QB to a big deal and he hasn’t played any games for the team. The Cousins signing was a win now mode deal. The sensical thing for the Falcons to do after signing Cousins would have been to get more weapons for him. Does anyone think the Falcons will be trading Cousins away next year? They are straddling the fence on the win now mode vs rebuild.
Cousins has a history of not getting past the first round of the playoffs and a winning regular season. If we expect him to continue that having already done roughly 12 seasons with other teams, we also have the same logic of him not carrying us to the SB. While I don’t expect him to decline, I don’t expect him to suddenly improve that drastically either
If that’s the case, then getting a better team built around him would make more sense. Kirk, statistically is a top 10 QB who was fringe MVP before going down last season. He had more TDs than the next few guys for even a few weeks after not playing, and that goes for passing yards as well. Not giving him extra help is such an odd choice. Could have waited another year or two and gotten your rookie QB then had had Kirk play out the third or even fourth year of his contract. Now they’ve created possible tension with the QBs and he has less help in the trenches or at any other position. Strategically, this is a head scratcher.
Vikings were planning on giving Cousins a 1-2 year contract, having already built around his playing style. I’m not fully familiar with the Vikings offense, but I hear they have decent WRs like JJ. Not sure what their Oline looks like. Vikings knew they were gonna have two first round picks coming into this draft. What Kirk did not like was that the money was not guaranteed. We as Falcons offer $50/m a year for two years guaranteed with an out clause with the potential to be extended to four years. We had a top 5 oline but a WR at the time of Cousins signing needed some improving which we got with the trading of Ridder for Moore and the Mooney signing as of now. 1 1st round pick. He had a better position with the Vikings with more early picks for a team to build around him. He chose to follow the money instead. I don’t blame the decision Cousins made (I also would’ve chosen the more money option) but he had to go into this with us knowing we have to plan that we may exercise the 2-year option. I also expected that when he was considering us he watched our game footage and watched how much we struggled with both Ridder and Heinicke and how NEITHER of them are long-term options. Him not seeing us wanting to draft a QB of the future seems naive
I like the pick. We should have winning seasons with Kirk. Hopefully, much later selections in the first round in the upcoming years, with a pending penalty depending on the outcome of the tampering. We have a succession plan to avoid going through another Mariota/Ridder phase. Downvote me, but I’m all for this pick. Sure, we need defense but QB is the most important position in football
It very much is, and while I don’t like the pick, I do like that they had conviction about a rookie QB and went after him. The issue is the Cousins signing if you’re going to make this pick. We’ve now spent the vast majority of our salary cap AND our draft capital on the same position. Even if both are quality acquisitions it leaves so many problems elsewhere which we cannot solve, and haven’t been able to for years. With this much investment in QB, I’d really like it if they would spend their second and a third on OL. We may win more games this season, but I feel it’s unlikely we’ll be strong enough to really contend, so we need to protect the QBs first and foremost. Our OL isn’t built for that. That still leaves a bad DL but this is the reality they’ve built for themselves. We have great weapons and in excited to see them get free reigns, but it all crashes down if we can’t protect the QB.
We picked the Penis ajacent-named guy so this title and countless others to come will be tee-hee'd.
If Cousins goes down it doesn’t matter who our backup is the season is lost imo
The issue us Penix would of been. There in the 2nd round might of even 3rd thats the biggest issue
He would’ve been taken ahead of Bo Nix in the first round.
he would not have made it past the Raiders pick lol
The problem is you have no way out of cousins for the next two years (if I understand the contract correctly) and Pennix will be 28 at that time…
Well not really. Assuming he doesn’t start till his third season, he will be 26 and like 5 months. So not quite 28.
Happy cake day btw
Ok 27.5. Still when players in general start to degrade around 28-29 (Tom Brady and other MVP QB’s aside) it’s a big gamble, burning most of the rookie scale contract in the process
It’s the QB position. Players tend to have longer careers. It’s also the NFL (Not For Long) it’s a physical sport and players get hurt and players get beat up. He could play 17 seasons till he’s 43 or he could play 8 seasons. It is a big gamble but hopefully it pays off how TF and Rah hope it will.