Arthur Blank wasn’t reliving Desmond Ridder vs. Taylor Heinicke.
That was one of several reasons the Falcons made the shocking decision to draft Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday despite signing Kirk Cousins to a $180 million contract a month earlier, according to a Yahoo Sports report.
Video of Blank, the Falcons’ 81-year-old owner, in the draft war room on Thursday night seemingly arguing with GM Terry Fontenot went viral not long after the Penix selection.
However, Yahoo reported that Blank was fully aware of the decision to draft the Washington Huskies star and was part of the phone call to let him know that the selection was coming.
Blank was motivated by the team’s quarterback debacle last season when Ridder, who was traded to the Cardinals this offseason for speedy receiver Rondale Moore, and Heinicke bounced back and forth as Atlanta’s starter in a 7-10 season.
“After watching Fontenot and the previous coaching staff juggle a failed attempt to develop third-round pick Desmond Ridder into a franchise player, Blank was motivated to overlap a late-career Cousins with a ‘special’ player waiting in the wings. Especially if that player wouldn’t be easy to acquire in future years,” Yahoo’s Charles Robinson wrote, noting that it was in Blank’s mind how well it worked for the Chiefs when they drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017 to back up Alex Smith.
And yes, if Penix is as talented as Mahomes — one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time — this plan should come up aces.
Still, there are plenty of pitfalls that left the NFL world scratching their heads at the decision.
Penix, who tore his ACL twice in college, will turn 24 next week and is not an ideal fit to be sitting as a backup for a year behind Cousins.
Fontenot said in a post-draft press conference it would be a “great problem” if Penix “sits for four or five years.”
Just not for Penix.
And then there’s Cousins, whose agent let it be widely known that the veteran was displeased with the team’s decision to prioritize a quarterback.
“When you can add a high-caliber player like that, with his intangibles, those tools, he’s a winner. Very, very excited. You don’t pass up that opportunity,” Fontenot said after the first round. “Kirk Cousins is our quarterback, we’re very excited about Kirk. Very excited about this team. Michael Penix is – we’re talking about the future.”
That won’t stop fans from getting restless if the 35-year-old Cousins, who is coming back from a torn Achilles, struggles early.
It won’t stop a constant stream of debate on “First Take” or “Undisputed” about who the starting quarterback in Atlanta should be.
The report also cited that Fontenot and new head coach Raheem Morris were wowed by Penix’s throwing velocity during a private workout and ranked him as their second quarterback in the draft behind USC’s Caleb Williams, who the Bears picked No. 1.
A personnel source texted Robinson during the draft as the viral video of Blank and Fontenot circulated on social media: “Is Terry trying to get fired?”
The answer, of course, was no. But as he enters his fourth year as GM, Fontenot’s future very much depends on how the Penix-Cousins dynamic evolves.
