Falcons GM expands on curious Michael Penix Jr. draft decision

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot spoke with NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about Atlanta making quarterback Michael Penix Jr. the eighth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft after the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed last month. 

"It’s unconventional because no one expected it, right? It’s unconventional because that’s human nature, to say we expect something," Fontenot told Breer about what's become the most discussed draft decision of this past Thursday night. "And we say, 'This is going to happen,' and when someone does something different and more uncommon in terms of what we expect, you say it’s unconventional." 

Josh Kendall of The Athletic shared how Fontenot previously suggested that Penix could serve as a backup for "four or five years." Such a plan seems unlikely, if only because Penix turns 24-years-old in May and should want to play well before 2028 arrives. 

As for Cousins, he'll be 36-years-old when the 2024 NFL season gets underway. He's also coming off the torn Achilles he suffered in late October 2023. 

"We do something else right here, and then we win for the next few seasons, and then Kirk decides to hang up the cleats, whenever that is, then Michael Penix is somewhere playing at a really high level and we’re in quarterback purgatory, we don’t have a quarterback," Fontenot said about a fear he held ahead of the draft. "We knew in our heart if we had a lot of people in the building that loved him and expected him to be that player, and he’s somewhere else, then that’s unforgivable."

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Falcons as the betting favorites at -130 odds to win the NFC South division title for the upcoming season. 

Many understandably think such an advertised contender that paid a veteran quarterback big bucks in free agency should've used the eighth pick of the draft to help that signal-caller win this September, but Fontenot seemingly has no regrets about adding Penix to the roster. 

"It is the most important position in pro sports," Fontenot said, "and if you don’t have one, I don’t care what you have around it, it’s not going to matter."

Perhaps Fontenot will look like a genius if Penix proves to be a revelation playing in place of a hurting or benched Cousins later this year. 

Barring such a development, Fontenot failing to help Cousins win immediately via the Penix pick could go down as a monumental miscue regardless of what the first-year pro becomes between now and the end of the decade.