The Kansas City Chiefs shook up the NFL Draft by adding another major offensive weapon.
The New England Patriots have gone all-in on Drake Maye as their next quarterback, although ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller exclusively told talkSPORT that the former North Carolina QB has serious question marks.
4
But the Atlanta Falcons made the biggest move of the first round and one player immediately became the biggest loser in the draft.
He is best known to NFL fans as a “Kohl’s Dad” who wears boring clothes but also sports wild gold chains.
Critics say he is grossly overpaid and has never delivered on his promises when it counted.
For the Falcons, he’s supposed to be a $180 million QB who will lead Atlanta back to the promised land in the playoffs.
But on Thursday, Kirk Cousins was simply the biggest loser in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Falcons believe so much in Cousins, 35, that he didn’t know until the final seconds that the team was going to shock the NFL by taking former Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick .
“This makes no sense,” one fan tweeted. “It’s not something you do if you’re trying to win immediately.”
Cousins now faces a tense situation between Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love, just six weeks after signing with Atlanta in free agency and being guaranteed $100 million.
4
4
It was a ridiculously bad organizational decision by the Falcons, who were heavily criticized and now have to explain to Cousins (and his agent) why they spent a valuable top-10 pick on a QB whose the main job now is to take Cousins’ job.
“Yeah, it was a big surprise,” said agent Mike McCartney. NFL Network. “We didn’t know this was going to happen. The truth is the entire league had no idea what was coming.
“We’re not going one-on-one. Kirk got a call from the Falcons while they were on the clock. That was the first time we heard it. It was never brought up in no conversation.”
Awkward video footage later emerged showing Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot appearing to explain the instantly controversial pick of Penix to Atlanta owner Arthur Blank.
Fontenot then stonewalled the media and stood his ground when asked not to tell Cousins the big secret.
“Maybe ATL was informed that the NFL was going to void Kirk’s contract because of the tampering?” » asked one fan.
“Kirk should be happy. Getting $40 million as a backup next year,” a third fan joked.
The Falcons have been a mess the last few years.
They gave Arthur Smith three seasons as head coach, despite three straight 7-10 records.
4
Atlanta also went against conventional wisdom multiple times in the draft and doesn’t have a winning mark to show for it.
But the Penix decision places a huge, burning spotlight on Cousins, who was doubted in Washington and Minnesota and suffered a serious Achilles injury in 2023.
Now, the second the veteran QB struggles with Atlanta, some fans will be clamoring for his job and screaming for the promising Penix to be the new starter.
“If you told me that in his rookie season, Michael Penix would be as good as anyone in this draft class, just in terms of pure ability and ability to throw the football, I wouldn’t be shocked by that because that he can really, really deliver the ball,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah exclusively told talkSPORT.
Penix, 23, is also old by rookie standards and suffered serious injuries in college, when he spent six years on the playing field.
On a night expected to bolster Atlanta’s defense, which ranked near the bottom half of the league in 2023 in average scoring and yards allowed, the Falcons stunned their fans and their supposed franchise QB by selecting a replacement waiting.
Even if Cousins posts a winning record next season, his clock will be ticking all the time.
Penix is the future in Atlanta.
Cousins will soon be obsolete and his massive $180 million contract is suddenly not worth what it was worth last month.
