The first seven picks of the NFL Draft went chalk, but the Atlanta Falcons made up for lost time.
The Falcons, who signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal earlier this offseason, selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the first stunner of Thursday night.
Cousins is 35 years old and coming off an Achilles tear, so perhaps this is a security blanket, but Cousins did sign for $180 million with $100 million guaranteed.
In terms of players drafted anyway, it’s a stunner considering just about every expert had Penix as likely the fifth quarterback being taken – instead, he is the fourth, as Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy remains available.
This past season, Washington’s reign over the Pac-12 continued, as Penix threw for 4,903 yards with 36 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. His efforts with a high-octane offense led to a national championship appearance, though Michigan defeated Washington in the end.
That performance probably hurt his stock a bit – he completed just 27 of his 51 passes for 255 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, missing some throws someone of his caliber should make easily.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old also has quite the injury history before even taking an NFL snap.
He’s torn his his right ACL twice, once in 2018 and once in 2020 while with Indiana, had a clavicle fracture in 2019 and an A/C joint separation in 2021.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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