DETROIT — The 2024 NFL Draft for the Atlanta Falcons will be remembered for a garden variety of reasons. First and foremost, the selection of Michael Penix Jr. with the 8th pick was a head-scratcher for many. Secondly, five of the Falcons’ eight draft picks were used on the front seven. Three of the five picks were defensive tackles. Additionally, the Falcons did not draft anyone outside of college football’s Power Five conferences. Let’s make sense of this.
During his opening press conference, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said, ‘If we had better quarterback play, I may not be standing here.’ He’s right. If Ridder had taken the Falcons to the playoffs last year, Arthur Smith would still be head coach. In response, Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins and drafted whom the brass believes will be the eventual successor in Penix.
“Here’s one of those times we’ve been able to stump the world and we’ve been talking about it for three days,” Morris said Saturday. “I hate for it to be the story of the draft and I know it will be.”
Could the Falcons have drafted Spencer Rattler, Jordan Travis, Kedon Slovis, or Joe Milton III in the later rounds? Sure! Did they want to put their futures in the hands of a quaterback drafted in the later rounds? Well, it got Arthur Smith fired.
For example, if the Falcons cut Cousins before 2025, he’ll cost at least $40 million against the Falcons’ salary cap in dead money, according to OverTheCap. That hit goes down to at least $12.5 million if he’s cut ahead of 2026 or 2027.
There are no guarantees and sure things in the NFL. What is clear is that 66 quarterbacks started NFL games in 2023. Outside of the starters, the backup quarterback position has become very important in today’s game.
By the way, Kirk Cousins will be 36 on August 19th.
Why did the Falcons go heavy with defensive players?
Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata are north of 30 years of age. Drafting Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus, Zion Logue and Bralen Trice in the middle rounds signifies affecting the quarterback is a major key for the Falcons heading into 2024. Last season, the Falcons did not have anybody within the top 20 of pass rush win rates. Neither at edge rusher or defensive tackle. No Falcon defensive tackle or edge rusher finished in the top ten in run stop win rates. Additionally, the Falcons finished 2023 with 42 sacks, which was 22nd in the NFL.
Sure, a defensive-minded head coach would want to fortify the front seven. Yes, a defensive-minded head coach wants to affect the opposing quarterback often. Yes, the foundations of football are built at the line of scrimmage. However, an offense’s best friend is a defense that can get off the field on third down.
What was a weakness must be a strength for the Falcons.
As of the time of publication, the Falcons signed the following undrafted free agents: WR JaQuae Jackson, Rutgers; WR Isaiah Wooden, Southern Utah; OL Ryan Coll, Richmond; CB Trey Vaval, Minnesota State; P Ryan Sanborn, Texas); QB John Paddock, Illinois, CB Jayden Price, North Dakota State; and TE Austin Stogner, Oklahoma. Cole Beck from Virginia received an invite to rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
The fact remains: The Atlanta Falcons have not had a winning season since 2017. Additionally, the team has not won the division since 2016. Furthermore, Atlanta has not hosted a playoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Those are the primary complaints from Falcons owner and CEO Arthur M. Blank. Yes, drafting Penix and investing heavily on defense in the 2024 NFL Draft seems like a poor proposition. However, a succession plan after Kirk Cousins was important to Blank. It was also important to the job securities of Fontenot and Morris.