Falcons not taking a page from Packers' book with selection of Penix Jr.

Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Falcons not taking a page from Packers' book with selection of Michael Penix Jr.

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 4/25/24

At first blush, it would appear as if the Atlanta Falcons are trying to learn from the Green Bay Packers, who have become the best in the business when it comes to quarterback succession plans.

The Packers selected Aaron Rodgers 24th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft with the idea that he'd sit and learn behind future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

That worked out well for Green Bay.

The Packers then did it again, this time with Rodgers as the aging future Hall of Famer. They selected Jordan Love with the 26th pick in the 2020 draft, and so far so good for Green Bay.

That appears to be the situation the Falcons are trying to set up in Atlanta. They just signed Kirk Cousins to a four year deal to be their franchise quarterback this offseason, but with pick No. 8 in the 2024 NFL Draft, they ... took another quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington.

MICHAEL PENIX JR. GOT SELECTED BY THE ATLANTA FALCONS AT NO. 8 pic.twitter.com/EmTtZzg0tn
— ESPN (@espn) April 26, 2024

While having a succession plan at quarterback is very Packers-esque of the Falcons, this really doesn't feel like the same thing.

Rodgers had fallen all the way to near the end of the first round before the Packers pulled the trigger on him. Love was also a late first-round pick, though it's worth noting the Packers did trade up to get him.

Still, using pick No. 8 overall on a quarterback just months after giving another quarterback a four-year, $180M contract with nearly $100M guaranteed doesn't really seem like a smart succession plan. It seems like a waste of valuable resources — mainly a waste of millions and the No. 8 overall pick.

Doing both doesn't make sense, especially when considering the contract timelines.

Just to do the math all the way out … Michael Penix Jr. will be 28 when the Kirk Cousins contract ends! https://t.co/QCHq1qLn1a
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 26, 2024

Paying Cousins would have made sense, on its own.

Taking Penix Jr. would have made sense, on its own.

Doing both is a terrible allocation of resources, though, and that's not even considering the fact that part of what has undoubtedly helped the Packers was the fact that the young quarterback they drafted was set to learn from a future Hall of Famer.

Cousins is many things, but that, he's not.

More must-reads: