kind of a homer pick.

Drafting a QB with a top ten pick who was projected to go mid-2nd round after paying $180MM to Kirk Cousins.

Penix will be 28 when Cousins’ contract is up.

up one spor to draft Trubisky when he could have just said “If someone jumps in front of us to draft Mitch, we will just take Mahomes or Watson.”

Atlanta's pick was not one of them.

first, as you say, the Cousins situation made this pick a head scratcher.

Two, Penix has injury issues, especially with the knee

Third, he went WAY higher than most thought he would. I get the whole "qb's come off the board earlier than they should" (Christian Ponder), and maybe the Raiders take him when their pick came around, but some gave Penix a 2nd round grade.

Atlanta's GM and HC combo trying to pull the "we're taking a page out of the Green Bay playbook" didn't seem to make a lot of sense.

The only speculation I have is that maybe the rehab for Cousins isn't going well. an achilles tear is a tough recovery and those injuries are prone to repeating. Maybe that was their thinking, but I'd ask why they got involved with him in the first place.

Penix won't be thrown to the wolves as a rookie.

I'll see myself out

worried about. What is the vision of the organization when you sign Cousins then pass on Belichick and draft a QB in the top 10? Seems like there isn't a coherent one.

I like the Penix pick much more than the deal they gave Cousins.

At least they're consistent.

Another is that you used the #8 pick on a player who you don’t want to play for five years. This isn’t like a Favre>Rodgers or Smith>Mahomes situation. Those players were on their way out. The Falcons *just* signed Cousins to a huge four year deal. They could’ve done this in 2-3 years and drafted to make the team better in the meantime.

(first, I'm a Vikes fan and I was happy to be rid of him. Good QB but not gonna lead anybody to a Super Bowl win).

Anyway, ESPN this morning seemed to indicate Cousins' contract for $180MM is "only" (cough cough) $100MM guaranteed, over two years.

To me this does all of the following:

* ticks off Cousins and tells him his 4 yr $180MM contract is really 2 yrs and $100MM. Welcome to the franchise

* makes Penix unhappy, he is 24 and doesn't need to sit for TWO years (maybe one)

* wastes the value they could've had elsewhere with the #8 pick to help Cousins win now

Really the Cousins signing was the bigger of the two mistakes, but they knew of the Cousins commitment on draft night, not vice versa.

Five Years?

“If you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him,” Fontenot said. “If he sits for four or five years, that’s a great problem to have because we’re doing so well at that position.”

He's saying he's ok with the notion that Penix will sit for 4 or 5 years after picking him 8th (and all the payroll that will tie up for those years) after just committing $90 MM guaranteed to Kirk Cousins. He's an idiot. The Falcons have holes everywhere. He reminds me of every Lions GM in history prior to Brad Holmes.

They play the same position in name only. Both will be on the field at the same time. Mayer in line and bowers split out.