2024 Offseason Thread

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jr.

The Bo Nix experience is going to be entertaining as an outside observer here in Denver Sent from my SM-G970U using Operation Sports mobile app

He even looks like he could be Drew Locks brother.


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[KG]

Nothing about what the Falcons did at 8 makes sense lol.

Committing $100mil to a 35yr old QB says to me that you’re in win now territory

Logic says you use the #8 to draft an immediate impact type of player

Getting a QB at 8 and not an impact player only makes your newly acquired QB nervous as he’s going to be looking over his shoulder since he’s coming off a serious injury. Any misstep by Kirk and fans will be wanting to see Pennix.


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[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by KG

Nothing about what the Falcons did at 8 makes sense lol. Committing $100mil to a 35yr old QB says to me that you’re in win now territory Logic says you use the #8 to draft an immediate impact type of player Getting a QB at 8 and not an impact player only makes your newly acquired QB nervous as he’s going to be looking over his shoulder since he’s coming off a serious injury. Any misstep by Kirk and fans will be wanting to see Pennix. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A lot of questionable decisions by the Falcons over the years. Draft a TE top 5 and didn't really utilize him first couple years, draft a 4.6 WR top 10, draft a Rb top 10, and pay a OG 100M, and now a 35 year old Qb 100m guaranteed. That definitely points to win now.

Only positive I can think of is I think I saw that after the 25-26 season, Cousins only has 10M guaranteed. So, it could be very likely that Penix will start by year 3.

[georgiafan]

After a couple of decades and giving up hope long ago the falcons have to try hard and get me upset. Fast Foward to now and I'm still just livid, here is some rambling thoughts on why it's one of the dumbest picks in NFL history. I'll try and just stick to the on field stuff

The obvious one you just paid Cousins 100 million guaranteed and despite what you think of him we all agree is worlds better then Ridder. Even if you cut him after 2 years you would still have a 25 million dead cap hit. That could be split up between two years I guess is a plus. You're also paying a 3rd QB like 9 million so he will have to be cut and you lose another few million dollars.

It shows just no class as a organization to spun this on a veteran QB after he signed his deal. They called him as they were on the clock and told him. Thats the kind of thing you bring in before you sign someone.

Penix is a 2nd round prospect that was over drafted. He isn't this surefire QB prospect and he had 3 or 4 season ending injuries. He had a perfect setup at Washington with a smart coach, elite WR and I think the best graded OL in the country. The biggest thing Penix is 24 so with 2 years waiting he is 26. This means Penix also isn't happy as with his age isn't going to be happy just sitting on the bench.

Let's pretend Penix wins the job after a year then you will have to cut Cousins and have a 70-million-dollar cap hit. If you love Penix as a prospect then why pay Cousins use that $ to help around him. You take advantage of the rookie scale contract and bring in some defense. If Penix does hit the window of getting him cheap is small and he is pushing 30.

This is the worst division in the NFL its win now time not worried about the QB in 2 or 3 years. You haven't had a pass rush in a decade+ and just refuse to take a non-skill player in the 1st round. Yes the roster is pretty good now, but that's not going to be the case in 2 more years by the time Penix starts.

Quote: Originally Posted by KG

Nothing about what the Falcons did at 8 makes sense lol. Committing $100mil to a 35yr old QB says to me that you’re in win now territory Logic says you use the #8 to draft an immediate impact type of player Getting a QB at 8 and not an impact player only makes your newly acquired QB nervous as he’s going to be looking over his shoulder since he’s coming off a serious injury. Any misstep by Kirk and fans will be wanting to see Pennix. Because some players will retire and skill players you drafted in the 1st round will be somewhere around just ok Unless Cousins makes them better. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[slickdtc]

Quote: Originally Posted by illwill10

A lot of questionable decisions by the Falcons over the years. Draft a TE top 5 and didn't really utilize him first couple years, draft a 4.6 WR top 10, draft a Rb top 10, and pay a OG 100M, and now a 35 year old Qb 100m guaranteed. That definitely points to win now. Only positive I can think of is I think I saw that after the 25-26 season, Cousins only has 10M guaranteed. So, it could be very likely that Penix will start by year 3.

That second part is key to me. Cousins is on a 4 year deal I think, but sounds like could be a reasonable out after 2 years. That would put Penix on the timeline to take over in Year 3 a la Jordan Love. We don’t see it a lot so I’m not sure how much the hit rate is, but GB keeps churning out really good QB after letting them sit a few years after drafting in the first. Those guys (Rodgers and Love) were both drafted in the 20’s, though. But it’s a strategy worth exploring and it’s hardly ever a good look to draft a guy so high and not play him for 2-3 years. We will only be able to truly judge the move years down the line.

The Falcons recent history of offensive skill position players made this more of a head scratcher than it is IMO. But they shouldn’t let their history and past regime picks screw up their plans for now and the future.

My guess is with Raheem Morris at HC, he’s expected to get the most out of the defense. Otherwise, drafting an offensive player to insulate Cousins, who’s supposed to be good enough to get them to playoffs without additional help, would have been overkill. They already theoretically have the pieces on offense.

Penix age doesn’t bother me. We all want a guy to be our franchise QB from 23 to 38 but I don’t know how realistic that is. If you can get 10 years out of him (26-36), that’s pretty good and worth it if he’s as good as they drafted him to be.

Cousins should still be able to drag the Falcons to the South crown and playoffs next couple years, the succession plan is in place with what you figure to be one of your last high first round picks for a while. I get the criticism and pain ATL fans are feeling seeing the same type of move made, but as an outsider it made enough sense to me. The one big hit is if they could’ve gotten him later, but then we saw McCarthy and Nix both gone 4 picks later so I’m not sure he would’ve last much longer.

Gonna be all eyes on the Falcons next few years. So tantalizing lately with no results so far. Between the HC, GM, QB and future QB, they’ve laid their cards on the table. See how it turns out.

[Sportsforever]

All the talk of the future aside, the Falcons don’t need a QB right now (if they believed they do, you don’t sign Cousins). By the time they need a QB, you can find one…what they really needed right now is another piece to put around Cousins or a defensive difference maker. They did nine of that and reached for a QB who might not even be NFL material.

Even if Penix turns out to be a stud, they screwed themselves…such a Falcons thing to do.


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[adriano]

I thought Dallas did well recouping a 3rd round pick while still getting
a top Tackle. I like Graham, but Dallas needed more picks.

[KSUowls]

Where I think that age matters a bit is not so much that we want him to be the QB for the next 15 years, and instead it is more about the stage of development that a guy who is already 24 years old. Jordan Love and most QB's pre-covid are 2-3 years younger than what Penix is, with 2-3 years of less experience and coaching.

The other thing that I would point out is that there is a difference in drafting Love in the 20's to have him sit a year and drafting in the top 10. Both in terms of immediate value that you expect out of a top 10 guy and what it means to be drafting top 10 vs at the end of the round. Both Rodgers and Love came into situations where the roster had some high points. The Falcons though, despite spending the previous 3 top years (all top 10 picks) on offensive skill positions, do not have an elite offensive grouping, and their defense looks to be in the bottom half of the league. In 2 years when they can move on from Cousins, the team will have had to make decisions on 2 of those recent top 10 offensive positions and maybe their best defensive player will be at retirement age. And, if Cousins is everything that they hope, then they are less likely to get better in the next 2 years through the draft to make the situation better in 2027.

All of this is minor to this next point though. Why did you sign a big name QB in free agency on a team with a bunch of holes to win now, if you aren't going to give the team options to win now? I am a huge fan of forward thinking and teams not sacrificing tomorrow in order to win today, but this pick just doesn't make sense in any direction. Cousins should make the team better and possibly a playoff team this season, which is going to hurt the draft position next year. The team needed impact players to really win big now though, and they just burned their biggest bullet on someone who won't play for 2 years (if he does play within 2 years, then they just burned 150 million on a player who won't play). So, they should be a little better today and next year thanks to the veteran QB, still too many deficiencies to be really good though, and they are hurting their ability to be good "tomorrow" because they will be better for the next year or 2 sliding them down the draft order. It's like mediocrity is the goal.


As a side note. I am curious to see how the success translates from college to NFL that guys like Penix and Bo Nix have. Guys who took advantage of the extra COVID eligibility and set the college football world on fire as guys who had been in college football systems for 5 and 6 years.