Three days after the shocking draft pick crashed into other NFL franchise war rooms like a wrecking ball coming through an adjacent wall, the Atlanta Falcons’ rationale for selecting Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall has been cemented.
The question now is what it means for the remainder of Kirk Cousins’ career.
Publicly and privately, the Falcons’ messaging surrounding their selection of Penix less than two months after signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal are some version of this: Penix has a rare talent that Atlanta believes it will need sooner or later, so the franchise took him while it still had the chance.