It’s hard to recall a top 10 pick that’s created as much buzz as the Atlanta Falcons taking Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft last week.
Having given a massive contract to free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins just over a month ago, many are wondering why the Falcons would spend such valuable draft capital on a quarterback who might not even get his first snap until his late-20s.
According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith defended the team’s decision to take Penix. Smith said that Falcons truly believe that Penix can be “the guy.”
“This is the first year that we were sitting at our (first-round) pick and there was a quarterback that we felt like was the guy. We’re staring down the barrel at a player that we feel like could be that guy,” Smith said.
If the Falcons feel that Penix is the guy, that’s one thing. but to make such a move after already investing a small fortune (not to mention tons of cap space) into Kirk Cousins still seems like a massive gamble that could cost a lot of people their jobs if Cousins doesn’t ball out immediately.
Penix will be turning 24 in just a few days. If he doesn’t play at all in 2024, that means he won’t have taken his first NFL snaps until the age of 25. And if Kirk Cousins plays out his entire contract, the Falcons won’t see what Penix is like as a starter until he’s pushing 30.
There’s nothing wrong with simultaneously planning for both the short- and long-term future, unless doing one interferes with the other.