Chicago Bears' Ryan Poles wasn't the only general manager amused by the Atlanta Falcons' first-round pick.
Former Cleveland Browns GM and longtime NFL executive Michael Lombardi also found the Falcons' decision to draft Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick comical.
"Look, Michael Penix is a good player. That's not the conversation here," Lombardi said appearing on the Pat McAfree Show on Friday morning. "The job of a general manager is to marry the free agent system into the draft. And if you're Terry 'Super Bowl-winning' Fontenot who's won 21 games in three years since he's been in charge. If you're in that job, you know in October, November having watched Desmond Ridder play, watching Taylor Heinicke play, you need a quarterback.
"..Your job as the general manager is to look over your team and say these are the these are the needs and we've got to marry the free agent system to the draft, you're picking eighth overall this is the second year in a row.
"The Atlanta Falcons used a luxury pick at the eighth pick overall. Last year they took Bijan Robinson, really good player, but [Tyler] Allgeier averaged five yards a carry and gained 1000 yards the year before. Like they didn't need another back. They needed a defensive three-technique. This team finished 27th in forcing turnovers. They couldn't get off the field when they needed to. They have no pass rush. So now we come to the end of the season. They need a quarterback."
This Falcons Pick Screams "Lack of Plan"
Lombardi emphasized how the Falcons addressed their quarterback need at the start of NFL free agency by signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year $180 million deal with $100 million guaranteed.
"I've got no problem if you said in the offseason meetings that we're going to pick the quarterback at eight we know Michael Penix has a pretty good chance he's going to be there at eight," Lombardi continued. "Why did I have to go to Arthur Blank and say give me 90 million of your coin and let's go sign Kirk Cousins. Like why would you do that?"
Lombardi believes there was no real well-thought-out plan behind the Falcons' pick other than the fact that Fontenot simply liked him as a player, which is not a smart business move at the end of the day.
"This just smacks at a lack of a plan," Lombardi said. "This just smacks at not trying to do your job as the general manager tying things together. Like you don't come out there at the press conference and say, Hey, 'if Michael has to sit for five years we'd be happy because we're winning.' Well, hey, I hate to break the news to Terry, but if he's sitting for years, you still have to pick up the fifth-year option. And if he hasn't played, are you going to do that?"
It's worth noting that at that point, 23-year-old Penix would be on the verge of turning 30 and not have played a full season at the pro level.
Make it make sense.
You just can't.
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