The Atlanta Falcons made the most shocking pick of the NFL Draft when they selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick just months after signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. It was a move that was heavily criticized at the time, and team owner Arthur Blank is still defending it.
During a recent press conference, Arthur Blank explained the decision to draft Michael Penix Jr., saying that it was an attempt to plan for the future at the quarterback position and have a succession plan at the game’s most important position.
“We’ve been through a situation, post-Matt Ryan, when we’re seeing that movie when we didn’t have a franchise quarterback,” Blank said according to NFL.com. “We didn’t want to repeat that again. I mean, I certainly didn’t. I’m super sensitive to all forms of succession planning. After 60-odd years of business, in any business, that’s critical. At the key position, the quarterback position in the NFL, that’s very important. So, just listening to our coaching staff and our personnel department, they really made the decision. Michael was going to be available at No. 8. They saw an extraordinary talent.”
“I know age does kind of creep up,” Blank said. “I can speak myself personally on that a little bit. I know what that means. Kirk will be 36 at the start of the season. We hope and pray he’s got three to four great years in front of him, maybe beyond that. Who knows? But we also know that at some point, there will be a point that we’ll need a transition. We want to make sure we do that smoothly. …
“So, we’re doing our advance planning and doing our advance thinking. That’s what fans expect of us to do. Maybe not right at the moment. At the moment, they may have liked a different player. But at some point, down the road, they’ll want to know that we can have a smooth transition at that very critical position for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League.”
Clearly, the Falcons seem to think they made the right move regardless of what anyone else thinks.
[NFL.com]
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