On Thursday evening, the Atlanta Falcons sent a jolt throughout the NFL landscape when it was announced that they would be selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who just led the Washington Huskies all the way to the college football playoff national championship game this past season–with the number eight overall pick in 2024 NFL Draft. Making the Penix Jr. move a bit unpalatable for some was the fact that the Falcons had just signed free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, to a multi-year contract worth well north of $100 million, rendering some fans confused as to what exactly Atlanta's plan is.

More fuel was dumped onto the confusion Thursday evening when a video surfaced from the Falcons' “war room” (the room where all of the team's brass and personnel are located during the draft) showing team general manager Terry Fontenot in what seemed to be a bit of an animated discussion with owner Arthur Blank. Some interpreted the discussion as Fontenot justifying his surprising selection to Blank, while others had different ideas.

On Friday, Fontenot himself took the time to shed some light on what the conversation actually revolved around.

“Arthur (Blank) is fully supportive. That video probably was me working hard to get back into the first round. I was animated with my hands about explaining the capital to move up,” said Fontenot, per Dukes and Bell of the radio station 92.9 The Game on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.

Fontenot also discussed how he has handled the immense amount of criticism he has received since Thursday evening.

“I talked to a lot of former GMs. Bill Polian told me the President of the United States and NFL GMs get the most criticism. Don’t take it personal. Be above it,” said Fontenot.

A puzzling decision

There have been cases, namely Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers–when a team uses a first round pick to draft their quarterback of the future without intending to use that quarterback right away.

However, the specifics of those particular situations don't really apply to what the Falcons currently find themselves in. The Falcons, unlike those Chiefs and Packers teams, are far from being a ready-made contender, and the signing of Cousins signified to the fanbase that they were ready to start competing now, meaning that by not selecting a player ready to contribute immediately on Thursday, the team was actively working against the goal they had clearly established with the Cousins signing.

Furthermore, Penix Jr. will be 24 years old in less than two weeks, meaning that by the time Cousins' contract expires, he will be 28 years old and with zero NFL experience under his belt. And that's if the Kirk Cousins experiment goes according to plan.

In any case, the Falcons may have given themselves more future flexibility but also created more current problems for themselves with the controversial selection. The team will have several more chances to add depth as the draft proceeds.