What the Falcons told me is that they value not being awful more than they value a chance at being great.” Regarding the Atlanta Falcons’ handling of the 2024 NFL Draft and their choice to select Michael Penix Jr. over Kirk Cousins, there have been a lot of opinions expressed. A lot of those sports media headlines have included celebrities criticising the organization’s decision-making, but very few, if any, have examined the Falcons’ reasoning for their actions. Additionally, Nick Wright of FS1 provided an intriguing analysis of Atlanta’s QB dilemma on Friday’s First Things First.One of Wright’s favourite NFL truisms, according to Kevin Clark, “who I think is one of the best people covering the league,” has been that not every club genuinely wants to win the Super Bowl for years. And that’s what I learned from this. The goal of the Falcons is not to win the Super Bowl. They’re making an effort not to be terrible. The best defence against bottoming out is this. Path one is available to Atlanta if you’re hoping to win the Super Bowl heading into the offseason: Sign Kirk Cousins, take a few aces from the future, and spend your top 10 draft pick on a player you believe will make an immediate impact. Many of us predicted that you could choose any defensive player at number eight. I had it that way in all of my mock drafts. That was also how it felt. That’s a route. Another route is—wait for it—what? Although Michael Penix Jr. is still a rookie, we still adore him and appreciate his expertise. Fortunately, he is younger than most people who are in their second contract. We’re going to follow the path taken by many other clubs, which is to acquire a young quarterback, save the $100 million, and use it to strengthen the squad. Rather, they chose option number three, which had the best safety net against either choice turning out badly. It is the best protection against encountering a Desmond Ridder scenario ever again. Which is acceptable if your objective is to stay relevant, win a playoff game, and win a weak division? Wright said to his FS1 colleagues that they could discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both Cousins and Penix as quarterback possibilities. On the other hand, there’s an important thing to think about. A well-defined plan ought to have been developed by now, with plenty of time to evaluate the salary cap, the free agency environment, and the positions of all quarterbacks in the draft. Determining whether the Falcons would be the greatest spenders in free agency or make the biggest leap in the QB draft was the ideal component of that strategy. They carried out both. “Those don’t make sense,” Wright went on. Yes, it was surprising since the Falcons have told me they place a higher importance on a chance to be great than on avoiding being terrible. Which is unfortunate for me as a Falcons supporter. In the end, the forthcoming campaign will shed more light on the Falcons’ approach and whether averting catastrophe takes precedence over going for glory.
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