Atlanta Falcons Pull Surprise Pick Of First Round Of NFL Draft

DETROIT – Picking out the craziest moment of the 2024 NFL draft is easy. Thank you, Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall selection in the draft.

The Atlanta Falcons, who paid Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract last month, just picked Michael Penix Jr.

The Atlanta Falcons, who trusted Cousins coming off an Achilles injury, are now trusting Penix after he spent his first four seasons at Indiana – and was unable to complete any of those seasons because of injuries.

It's fair to say this was a huge surprise even to Cousins – the supposed new face of the franchise – .

The Falcons, who have spent years looking for an heir to Matt Ryan, are now stacking possible heirs to Ryan.

It should be mentioned here that Cousins is 35 years old.

And his four-year deal has a very attractive out before the 2026 season in that the Falcons can cut Cousins and save $32.5 million. 

So this pick doesn't guarantee the Falcons have a great quarterback in their newly minted rookie. 

But it does guarantee that on this draft day, it is Kirk Cousins who is on the clock. 

By the way, the dynamics between Cousins and Penix Jr. should not be an issue. Cousins is a salt of the Earth person. So he will welcome the rookie and make it work.

But the relationship between Cousins and the Falcons just got interesting.

The Falcons did not even hint to Cousins they might pick a quarterback in the first round – or any round – until they were on the clock.

"We had no idea this was coming," agent Mike McCartney said in a statement released to the NFL Network. "The truth is the whole league had no idea this was coming. 

"We 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."

Yes, bad form.

Not long ago, Aaron Rodgers was quite upset when the Green Bay Packers selected Jordan Love in the first round.

It would not surprise if there is a very uncomfortable conversation between Cousins or his agent and Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot.

For more on QBs selected in the NFL draft, read our recap here.