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The selection of Michael Penix Jr. by the Atlanta Falcons was one of the big surprises of the 2024 NFL Draft. What few people know is the role Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes played in the Falcons' decision to use their first-round pick to select the University of Washington product.
Just in mid-March, a few weeks before the draft, the Falcons had extended veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract. With a top quarterback committed to a medium-term contract, most expected them to go with a defensive player, whether it be a cornerback or linebacker.
However, the Falcons' front office surprised everyone by using their first-round pick, eighth overall, to select Penix. According to NFL insider Albert Breer, everything has a logical explanation, which begins with the selection of Mahomes in the 2017 Draft.
Terry Fontenot and Patrick Mahomes
In a conversation with Pat McAfee, Breer recalled that Fontenot was part of the New Orleans Saints' staff in 2017, the same year the Chiefs made Mahomes the tenth overall pick in the draft.
"I'm sure you know, Pat, Sean Payton was very, very high, as were all the Saints people, on Patrick Mahomes," Breer recalled. According to the insider, "they (the Saints' front office) felt like the reason why they lost Patrick Mahomes that year is because word of their interest got out."
The analyst explained that Fontenot would have learned his lesson. Breer speculated that the Falcons' top brass would have thought, "if we like one of these quarterbacks, we can't tell anybody, we got to sit there at eight, we got to pretend that we're taking Dallas Turner or Byron Murphy or Malik Nabers or someone else."
Penix is the quarterback of the future for Atlanta
For his part, Fontenot himself explained, in statements to local media, that the Falcons will use the same strategy with Penix that the Green Bay Packers used with Jordan Love.
It is worth remembering the Packers chose Love in the first round of the Draft 2020, even though they had Aaron Rodgers under contract. The veteran was MVP in 2020 and 2021, but after his departure from the team in 2023, Love was ready to take the helm of the offense and led the team to the postseason.
"I think you have to think like that," Fontenot explained, "If we see a player that we believe can be a franchise QB at any point, then you have to bring that player in because we're talking about the next four to five years plus."