UTTER DISBELIEF THE FALCONS DRAFTED MICHAEL PENIX JR.

Back in the 2012 NFL Draft, Washington selected Kirk Cousins in the 4th round, which sent sports reporters into a frenzy because RG3 was the 2nd overall pick that year. I remember reading story after story ripping the Washington franchise for drafting a second quarterback in the same draft as RG3. Well, when Roger Goodell walked on stage tonight, Kirk Cousins had no idea that he was about to be, if you will, Kirk Cousins by his new employers. 

So when Goodell worked his way out on stage to announce the 8th pick of the NFL Draft, the team at NFL Network appeared to be tipped off as Ian Rapoport jumped on air right before the pick and went on a rant about how the Atlanta Falcons are considering drafting Michael Penix Jr.

As Goodell made the announcement, 275,000 fans were in attendance, and millions watching around the country were left in utter disbelief.

It’s not that I don’t think Penix is going to be a good QB; in fact, we called him the most underrated player heading into the draft, but why in the world would the Atlanta Falcons grab Penix at 8 when they just signed Kirk Cousins to a staggering deal which includes $90 million guaranteed over two seasons.

Speculation quickly spread like a California wildfire that Cousins's recovery wasn’t going as smoothly as reported. But sources close to the Falcons quickly put that out. 

Unfortunately, Penix, who is 24 years old, has a track record of season-ending injuries, which is one of the reasons most draft experts had him drop to the end of the first round.

Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney, made it clear via NFL Network that the Penix pick came as "a big surprise."

"We had no idea this was coming. The truth is the whole league had no idea this was coming. We got no heads up. Kirk 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."

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
As I mentioned, I believed Penix was the most underrated player going into the draft, so I’m not surprised that he went earlier than most draft experts predicted.

Now, there are a few real possibilities as to why the Falcons picked Penix.
* Kirk's rehab isn’t going according to plan
* Penix is trade bait for a move to be made later in the weekend
* The Falcons actually believe the Jordan Love model will work for Penix

Whatever the reason they selected Penix, it certainly didn’t help Cousins out this year. Penix is actually NFL-ready, unlike Jordan Love when the Green Bay Packers drafted him, so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the coming weeks. I guess there is more to this story that hasn’t been written yet.