The Atlanta Falcons pulled off the biggest surprise of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night when they selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick – but why?
Penix led the Washington Huskies to the College National Championship in his senior year of college, but landed in Atlanta just over a month after the Falcons made Kirk Cousins their new starting quarterback by signing him to a four-year contract during free agency signed for over $180 million.
After being advised to address their pass rush early in the first round, the Falcons instead looked for an obvious contingency plan for Cousins.
Talking about a draft edition of Inside the Huddle: Sky Sports NFL Expert Jeff Reinebold questioned the decision.
“I was surprised, Penix was my fourth-string quarterback, but I didn’t think he would make it to eighth,” Reinebold said. “They obviously need to have a succession plan in place to replace Kirk Cousins, but the fact that they didn’t inform Kirk Cousins that they were going to sign this guy is a faux pas in my eyes.”
“These are extremely ambitious, self-centered guys and they are the face of the franchise.”
“You remember the difficult situation in Green Bay with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, it’s been like that in a lot of places, you have to give your starter credit.”
“I think Penix is a great player. When you talk about him being the future, the problem is that he is 23 years old and has suffered four season-ending injuries in his career.”
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Jeff Reinebold believes the Arizona Cardinals have found a “real guy” in Marvin Harrison Jr. and fans should be “ecstatic” about the fourth pick in the draft
At 23, Penix is typically older than most rookie quarterbacks coming into the NFL and is poised to sit for several years behind the famously durable Cousins, who were brought in to fill one of the league’s most talented position groups to conduct competition.
“Kirk is very competitive, he could play three or four more years and then the succession plan would be a 26/27-year-old quarterback,” Reinebold continued. “If he was JJ McCarthy, who’s 21, you could see it, but I don’t see it, even though I love Michael Penix.”
With Cousins and a talented receiver room, the Falcons appeared to be able to bolster a defense that lacked recognized pass rushers at the top of the draft. However, they welcomed Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro and Washington defensive end Bralen Trice on the second day.
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The Inside the Huddle team looks back on a very pro-offensive first round of the 2024 draft
Penix led Washington to a 14-1 record in 2023 while completing 363 of 555 passes for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns with 11 interceptions en route to finishing second in Heisman Trophy voting and winning the Maxwell Award for college football player of the year.
“I had him rated ahead of JJ McCarthy and ahead of Bo Nix, nobody in the draft throws the deep ball as well as him,” Reinebold said. “Is this going to be Atlanta’s offense? Are they going to be a deep-ball offense?”
“He is not a player who creates something out of his own pocket. If you can reach him, he doesn’t work well when he has to improvise.”
“You just have to watch Rome Odunze’s film, his ball placement on deep balls is incredible.”
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The Inside the Huddle team discusses which 2024 draft quarterback has the best prospects for the new season
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