<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1qjzV3_0ujKMEHC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1qjzV3_0ujKMEHC00" width="1600" height="900" >The Falcons adding Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall became easily this draft’s most discussed decision. Giving Kirk Cousins a $100M practical guarantee and then turning to Round 1 to add a successor represents a free agency-era zag and <a href="https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/players/arthur_blank/679640">Arthur Blank</a> indicated this was not necessarily the team’s pre-draft plan. Blank said Cousins was informed pre-draft the Falcons were planning to select a quarterback, but the long-time owner noted the plan was not to pick a passer eighth overall. Grades on Penix (and a <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/05/latest-on-falcons-first-round-decision">lukewarm view of the 2025 and 2026 QB classes</a>, as early as it is regarding those future crops) led to the team pulling the trigger and Raheem Morris said in April the team informed Cousins of that pick <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/04/qb-draft-notes-penix-daniels-nix-raiders">minutes before it was made</a>. The team’s decision <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/04/kirk-cousins-stunned-by-falcons-decision-to-draft-michael-penix-jr">left Cousins “stunned.”</a><blockquote>“I think (Cousins) was surprised as many people were and frankly we were,” Blank said of Penix being available at No. 8, via <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5669010/2024/07/30/arthur-blank-falcons-michael-penix-jr/">The Athletic’s Josh Kendall</a>. “Our plan was not to pick a quarterback at No. 8, but the grades our coaching staff had on Penix and him being available at No. 8 it turned out that that’s what happened.”</blockquote>Blank then elaborated on the thought process behind the decision.<blockquote>“We made it clear to Kirk that we probably were going to draft a quarterback in this draft," the Falcons owner explained, "and it turned out that Michael Penix, who our coaching staff and personnel department graded extraordinarily high, they viewed him as a tremendous player, (was available),”</blockquote>This is an unusual account of the Falcons’ draft plan, as the uproar about Penix going to Atlanta stemmed from the Washington prospect going earlier than expected (and to a team that had just given a QB a four-year, $180M deal). It would be odd if Cousins was surprised by Penix remaining on the board at No. 8 overall, given that questions about the left-hander had him at least dropping into the teens. The Raiders, at No. 13 overall, were a <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/04/raiders-interested-in-michael-penix-jr">popular Penix spot</a> in mock drafts. Several teams placed a <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/04/latest-on-michael-penix-jr-s-draft-stock">second-round grade on Penix</a>, though a number of <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/04/latest-on-washington-qb-michael-penix-jr-s-draft-stock">coaches were high on him</a>. After the Falcons surprisingly made a move for one of the six first-round-level QBs, the Broncos shut down any effort to trade down from No. 12 overall <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/05/broncos-met-with-drake-maye-spencer-rattler-raiders-qb-need-impacted-teams-bo-nix-plan">in fear the Raiders would then draft</a> Bo Nix.The Falcons’ move to nab Penix created a running storyline. Cousins declined to answer whether he would have signed with the Falcons <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/05/kirk-cousins-addresses-michael-penix-jr-pick-latest-on-falcons-draft-plan">had he known they would have chosen Penix</a>. While the veteran may still have done so due to the $100M guarantee Atlanta was willing to authorize, this will be a closely monitored situation for as long as the two passers are on the roster. Unsurprisingly, Blank’s view of recent Falcons QB situations prompted the aggressive offseason at the position.“We have seen that movie where we didn’t have a franchise quarterback, and we didn’t want to repeat that again,” Blank said. “I certainly didn’t.”Blank and the Falcons have certainly shifted course. A year ago, the owner was <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2023/04/arthur-blank-denies-falcons-were-serious-on-deshaun-watson-addresses-lack-of-lamar-jackson-interest">eager to build around</a> Desmond Ridder’s rookie contract. Blank had explained why the Falcons, who were close to acquiring Deshaun Watson in 2022, joined the rest of the NFL in not pursuing Lamar Jackson after the Ravens QB’s trade request surfaced. The Falcons built their 2023 offseason around Ridder, naming him the former third-rounder the <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2023/03/falcons-plan-to-keep-desmond-ridder-as-starting-qb">starter months before training camp</a>. After the team benched Ridder on multiple occasions last season, it moved him to Arizona for Rondale Moore.The Falcons are back in the franchise-QB contract business, with Cousins — barring a trade — locked in for at least two seasons. The long-time Vikings starter, who recently <a href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/07/falcons-kirk-cousins-grady-jarrett-medically-cleared">received full clearance</a>, is coming off an Achilles tear ahead of his age-36 season. Penix is already 24, separating this plan from the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers-to-Jordan Love succession; Love was 21 when Green Bay traded up for him.This decision obviously cut into Atlanta’s ability to build a team around Cousins, as efforts to trade back into Round 1 for a pass-rusher did not succeed. But the Falcons do now have a long-term plan in place at the game’s premier position. Rumors will undoubtedly persist about the team’s QB situation, but for now, no question exists as to which one is the starter.<blockquote>“Kirk Cousins is our franchise quarterback. He is our starting quarterback and he seems to be doing great from a medical standpoint,” Blank said. “… But I know age does kind of creep up. I can speak for myself personally on that. We also know that there will be a point where we will need a transition, and we want to do that smoothly."</blockquote>Blank then spoke to the team's firm desire not to have to take a step back at signal-caller after Cousins retires.<blockquote>“I’m very sensitive on behalf of our fan base on not having a period of time post-Kirk Cousins," Blank said, "to have a gap again between having that kind of franchise quarterback and being in the spin cycle and not being able to get out.”</blockquote>Blank said he was closely involved in the Falcons’ pre-draft process but reminded (via Kendall) Terry Fontenot and the team’s personnel staff have the final say and made the ultimate call. That choice will likely determine the GM’s future in Atlanta, as the team is riding a three-season streak of 7-10 records.<blockquote>“They don’t have to clear (picks) with me,” Blank noted. “They just have to make me aware of what is going on. I don’t like surprises. They know that, but it’s not up to me to make those decisions. It’s up to them and for me to understand the logic behind it.”</blockquote></div></body>

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Falcons owner elaborates on surprising first-round decision

The Falcons adding Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall became easily this draft’s most discussed decision. Giving Kirk Cousins a $100M practical guarantee and then turning to Round 1 to add a successor represents a free agency-era zag and Arthur Blank indicated this was not necessarily the team’s pre-draft plan.

Falcons owner elaborates on surprising first-round decision

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