One of the most stunning picks of the entire draft happened at No. 8 when the Atlanta Falcons ran their card up to the podium.
Rather than take an edge rusher to terrorize the rest of the NFC South for the next handful of years, the Falcons decided to take a quarterback. Atlanta took Michael Penix Jr., despite the fact that the team is paying $180 million to Kirk Cousins to play the exact position he does.
It was a mind-boggling choice for the Falcons to make, one that had Buccaneers fans pointing and laughing over how badly they fumbled the bag.
Bucs fans weren't the only ones absolutely flabbergasted by the decision to draft Penix Jr., as just about everyone watching couldn't help but chuckle.
Falcons got cooked on social media for drafting Michael Penix Jr.
Michael Penix Jr. seeing the Falcons just drafted him pic.twitter.com/5gxp1G7a66
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) April 26, 2024
the falcons looked at this and said let’s ride lmao pic.twitter.com/T1tB4bgJst
— sean yoo (@SeanYoo) April 26, 2024
Too accurate 😂#RiseUp | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/nV4UuEfdxp
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) April 26, 2024
Falcons to Cousins, six weeks after signing him: pic.twitter.com/GBlVuZibok
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 26, 2024
Michael Penix Jr. seeing the Falcons draft him pic.twitter.com/Ipp8xEf1ee
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) April 26, 2024
The Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr. after they just gave Kirk Cousins $180M pic.twitter.com/wNTiUis7te
— GhettoGronk (@TheGhettoGronk) April 26, 2024
Falcons fans seeing their team take Michael Penix in the top 10 after paying Kirk Cousins $180 million pic.twitter.com/oCHN23gqhb
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 26, 2024
Falcons fans realizing that Penix won’t be starting until he’s 28 pic.twitter.com/rFA4V5z39y
— blue and white ignite (@futtywap) April 26, 2024
There might be some logic in the Falcons drafting Penix Jr., but it's razor thin at best.
Cousins signed a four year deal this offseason, but Atlanta has an out after 2026 that could save them over $30 million. Even if that happens, Penix wouldn't be starting until the third year of his rookie deal when he's 26 years old, and that's assuming Cousins isn't playing well.
If Cousins does play out the entirety of his contract, Penix wouldn't start until he only has the fifth year of his rookie contract left which means the Falcons completely wasted its value. If the reasoning is that Cousins isn't as fully back from his injury, then Penix would be forced to start before he's ready and that's overlooking the fact that Atlanta gave $180 million to a guy who wasn't even fully healthy.
No matter which way you slice it, the Falcons are in a tough spot and it's hard to argue that they didn't waste a first round pick. There was a run on quarterbacks, but the Falcons didn't need one and gifted the Bucs -- and the rest of the NFC South -- by not selecting a pass rusher and instead taking a guy who won't see the field for at least a few seasons.