The most shocking moment of night one of the 2024 NFL Draft came when the Atlanta Falcons, fresh off lavishing Kirk Cousins with a four-year, $180 million contract that contains $90 million fully guaranteed, selected University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick. There had recently been a lot of smoke around Penix coming off the board in the top half of the first round, and even some that he would land in Atlanta, but the latter seemed like too outlandish a result for it to actually happen, Jared Dubin of CBS Sports reports.
Alas, it did happen. During the draft broadcast, cameras appeared to catch general manager Terry Fontenot explaining the selection to owner Arthur Blank.
And in his post-draft press conference, Fontenot explained it to the media and Falcons fans.
"If you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him," Fontenot said. "And if he sits for four or five years, that's a great problem to have because we're doing so well at that position. So, it's as simple as, if you see a guy you believe in at that position, you have to take him."
He'll also have to explain it to Cousins, who apparently was not alerted about the pick and was both "shocked" and "disappointed." His agent told NFL Network, "We had no idea this was coming. The truth is the whole league had no idea this was coming. We got no heads up. Kirk got a call from the Falcons when they were on the clock. That was the first we heard. It never came up in any conversation."
According to ESPN, the Falcons "had conviction on Penix from wire-to-wire," and sent eight coaches and front office executives to Seattle for a meeting with him following his Pro Day. The contingent included Fontenot, assistant GM Kyle Smith, head coach Raheem Morris, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, and quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates.
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