Falcons GM explains surprising Michael Penix Jr. pick

After the first seven picks of the 2024 NFL Draft went more or less as expected, the Atlanta Falcons supplied the night’s first big surprise by taking Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 overall. And on Thursday night, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot explained the pick.

Fontenot explained that Penix’s skills were just too good to pass up.

“When you can add a high caliber playing like that, with his intangibles, those tools — he’s a winner,” Fontenot said. “I’m very, very excited. You don’t pass up that opportunity.”

Of course, a big part of why the pick was surprising was that the Falcons had already made one of the biggest free agent moves of the offseason, signing four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins. Adding to the confusion was that Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network reported hearing from Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, that the quarterback had not been made aware of the intention to draft Penix. McCartney (per Mike Garofolo, NFL Network) confirmed that.

Despite the confusion and using such a high pick on a quarterback, Fontenot made it clear that Cousins is still the man for the job, saying “Kirk Cousins is our quarterback.”

“We’re very excited about Kirk, very excited about this team,” the general manager said. “Michael Penix is — we’re talking about the future. The draft is, you look at the future and you look big picture. but we are very excited about that quarterback room. And again, Kirk is our quarterback but adding Michael Penix is thinking about the future.”

[Photo Credit: ESPN]