Ex-NFL GM questions where 'adult supervision' was in Falcons' decision to draft Michael Penix Jr

[{"selector":"#anim-73820c82-5173-4700-9066-cdbb9fbe1c6c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern

[{"selector":"#anim-36d4fbed-41f8-42e9-a8de-7d9b266273dd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6c16263d-88ba-4409-b90c-36cd1a2e20dc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-4fc50539-3bca-4e50-8b9e-742748d310de","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 182.24122%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The conversation about the Atlanta Falcons' questionable decision to draft a quarterback with the No. 8 overall pick in the draft last week after signing Kirk Cousins in the offseason is still ongoing.

[{"selector":"#anim-cc114e6c-b306-4a61-abc3-4a2ec12b061a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-88ab4216-daf1-46f2-8c03-c05d72ce56ad","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5107c8a4-116f-43c1-acf7-2ffbbaf5e246","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 151.63010%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The immediate reaction was shock because the Falcons had seemingly already found their man in Cousins, signing him to a four-year, $180 million deal just a month before.

[{"selector":"#anim-32d84de7-4b52-4a34-b55c-276a86473546","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7c5d0a33-ecd0-4cac-b522-81669467e667","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5b8a1bf0-e934-40fe-bc6c-8ebbe6c78f47","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 361.74606%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins during the second half of a game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit Jan. 7, 2024.

[{"selector":"#anim-949e7233-135f-4113-89bf-5279dad4c0c4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2d1d63b3-690b-40d7-810e-e2d44a801b8f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c5904dae-f5eb-4ded-a469-4a2be9e8293e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 216.42924%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] "I’d love to know what the conversations were in Atlanta leading up to that and why there was no adult supervision," a former GM told The Athletic in an article published Thursday

[{"selector":"#anim-a7a2bee5-491c-4298-a1b2-8a9a7722dc08","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ffcd9080-f604-4d70-816b-5c62a277e4f5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-76666338-d799-4277-a130-ffa340e34c10","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 271.51290%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] "Truth be told, they could be good next year with Kirk Cousins, come away with the 25th or 26th pick, and then you take a quarterback in that range.

[{"selector":"#anim-ddf27b61-d71a-4db1-bd2b-b68193b70bf9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f448e034-81ab-4b60-a2b9-b96bec0ae593","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-de9c249d-8a3b-4a65-91d8-1aebe947345a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 360.31751%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] That is what Green Bay did with Jordan Love, and it is fundamentally different from what Atlanta just did."

[{"selector":"#anim-33eebba5-88e0-44bf-aa88-1a0391be43d7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-86efcac2-53bc-4f21-a42f-95f451a2e493","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9feb0ce8-013b-4551-94f0-abecbf9888f1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 269.38527%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] In a press conference that followed the first night of the draft, general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris defended the decision.