Michael Penix Jr taken by Falcons in NFL draft surprise

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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons pulled off the biggest shocker of the early part of the NFL draft Thursday night, taking Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick.

"I'm not gonna say I knew it was coming," Penix said. "But I knew once the phone call came through."

The Falcons made the pick despite signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract last month in free agency.

Penix, 23, emphasized that he is preparing to learn from Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler.

"He's been in the league," Penix said. "He's been in there for a while. He's played a lot of football. I feel like I'm gonna come in and I'm gonna learn. I'm gonna learn from him."

Penix was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy last year and won the Maxwell Award after leading Washington to a 14-1 record and an appearance in the national championship game, where the Huskies lost to Michigan.

The left-handed Penix led all of FBS with 4,903 passing yards in 2023 and was second in FBS in 2022 (4,641). He's the first player with 4,500 passing yards or more in two straight seasons since Patrick Mahomes did it in 2015 and 2016 for Texas Tech.

The numbers were excellent and so was the tape on Penix, who had arguably the best pure arm of any quarterback in the entire draft. But his injury history made him a major question mark for NFL teams. The player raised in Florida came back from four separate season-ending injuries in his college career. Penix tore his right ACL in 2018, dislocated his shoulder in 2019, tore his right ACL again in 2020 and separated the AC joint in his shoulder in 2021.

Those injuries and his age were red flags going into the draft, where he ended up being the fourth quarterback taken overall -- after Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye -- and one of a record-tying six selected in the first round.

Cousins, who is coming off an Achilles tear, will be Atlanta's starter for the foreseeable future, another reason why the Penix pick was a surprise. But Cousins is also 35 years old, and the Falcons' brass spent quite a bit of time with Penix recently, including a visit that was attended by general manager Terry Fontenot and new coach Raheem Morris.

Penix said the Falcons liked how he threw the ball at the visit, adding he felt it was a "great performance."

"It was a great session," he said. "It was a great time. It was quick, but we made it worthwhile."

The Falcons clearly felt like they had their quarterback of the future and did not want to pass him up.

This would not be the first time in Fontenot's tenure that the Falcons made a polarizing first-round pick. Last year, they took Bijan Robinson with the No. 8 pick, which was deemed early for a running back. Atlanta also took tight end Kyle Pitts with the No. 4 pick in 2021, another selection that drew controversy.