Falcons' Arthur Blank Backs Michael Penix Jr. Pick, 'Surprised' QB Was Available

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The Atlanta Falcons' selection of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall was easily the most shocking choice of the 2024 NFL draft considering the team's signing of free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract earlier that offseason.

On Tuesday at Falcons' training camp, team owner Arthur Blank made his first public comments since draft week about the eye-popping choice, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic.

"We made it clear to Kirk that we probably were going to draft a quarterback in this draft, and it turned out that Michael Penix, who our coaching staff and personnel department graded extraordinarily high, they viewed…