Falcons' Kirk Cousins addresses Michael Penix Jr. draft pick

A post-draft report pegged Kirk Cousins as stunned by the Falcons’ decision to choose Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. The move came after the team signed Cousins to a contract that included $100M in practical guarantees.

Some around the league are already wondering if the Falcons will be ready to trade Cousins in 2025, as only the Packers have tried a multiyear QB apprenticeship during the rookie pay-scale era (2011-present). 

Cousins did respond (via NFL.com’s Clayton Holloway) with “I don’t deal in hypotheticals” when asked if he would have signed with the Falcons knowing they would use a top-10 pick on a passer. But the veteran QB is on board with Atlanta’s current (and unexpected) setup.

“Mike’s been great. There’s always going to be competition in this league and you have to go out and earn it,” Cousins said, via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. “I’m going to control what I can control and I understand there’s a lot you can’t control.”

Cousins, 35, then compared this situation (via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter) to Washington drafting both he and Robert Griffin III in 2012 and Michigan State signing Nick Foles as a recruit in 2007. 

Foles transferred to Arizona after one season. Washington also had no plans of using Cousins as a starter, with that path emerging after RG3’s career began to skid off course. 

As we detailed during a recent Trade Rumors Front Office post, no direct 21st-century comp exists of a team committing to a high-profile starter (for big money) and following it up with a first-round pick a month later.

Part of the reason Cousins departed Minnesota came due to the team informing him a quarterback pick was likely. Now, Cousins is in that situation in Atlanta. 

The Falcons may not have been fully committed to going in this direction until their new coaching staff arrived, with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noting the hires of Raheem Morris and his staff coming close to free agency may well have influenced the team to acquire a stable quarterback before doing work on the draft class. 

Penix’s throwing session during a workout in Seattle moved the needle for the Falcons, as Fowler adds the Morris-led staff zeroed in on the Washington product.

Falcons national scout Joel Collier provided the initial report that led to Penix going eighth overall, Ledbetter adds. Collier’s work on Penix began following the 2023 draft, and the left-handed QB built on his profile with a dominant 2023.

“Shoot, that goes back to, all of our guys in this draft, that goes back to the year before,” Falcons assistant GM Kyle Smith said during a feature on the team’s YouTube channel. “So, our guys will start evaluating the players for next year’s draft at the end of May here. So, Joel was the guy who really liked Penix.”