The Falcons are NOT a good destination for Michael Penix Jr. | First Take 

As a Saints fan, I kept hearing about us potentially drafting Bo Nix, and I would have been apoplectic had we done so, not bc of Nix, but because of the restructure that had us keep Carr. Thankfully, we went somewhat smarter and I am even happier with the pie to the face of Falcons fans everywhere

Exactly

But you don't fix a mistake by making another mistake.

Exactly

@@drancealot My emphasis was not about correcting a mistake. My emphasis was to say that Penix is a legitimate 1st round pick.

She’s Asian they always look like that

Dan be doing faces when people talk. Im assuming they have been told by producers to make goofy ass expressions when other people are talking and making their comments on the various subjects.

All the homies love Mina 😂❤

Dan is whipping boy for all ESPN..cos he is w...e...they all destroy him

​@@Taxman5scottyI'm sure they do 😂

He got smoked by Mina here. Trying to say she does understand it but doesn't approve? What? No. We don't understand it or approve, lol.

@@BrofUJuMina didn’t smoke shit dude relax. Mina is wrong like she always is

@@eazypeezy6195 his point was this is a good signing in case the guy you just signed to a 100 million dollar contract to gets hurt? In what world is that good organizational process? That's the whole point. The process makes zero sense. He's 24.

@@eazypeezy6195 love how you're on her RU-vid page even though you clearly don't like her opinions, too. Consider getting a life

@@BrofUJu love how her bullshit take popped up on my timeline. Consider not being a simp coward

Her face when Dan said it wasn't a mistake says it all 😂

Irony is this is the most NOT keeping it a buck I've ever seen of Mina. She's smart enough to know Cousins deal is really a 2 year deal that the Falcons can clearly afford to absord the dead cap money for if Penix Jr turns out to be a top 10 QB. In a league where the only way teams can practically win a Super Bowl without a top 10 QB is with a generational roster, one that a project pass rusher at 8 was not going to create for the Falcons. The truth is she just doesn't think Penix Jr is worth a top 10 pick and she is hiding behind it being about the Cousins element and timetable when it's obvious why it would work perfectly if Penix turns out to be great and they were sold on him in the evaluation process.

Christ. You kids need testosterone supplementation. You've got to have a Vag to be able to watch her. It's like The View meets Football. Freaking weirdos.

@@truthbearer7891idk if you listened to her but the issue isn’t penix being that high it was the fact the falcons don’t seem to have a cohesive plan. Even if you wanna say the falcons can absorb the contract the thing is had they planned better they wouldn’t have to. And if you’re already hedging your bet from 2 months ago then what was the point of basically tampering to get cousin in the first place.

what makes her point valid over dan O?

I mean why?? the guys laid out a perfect argument on this...Cousin's deal is more a 2 year deal and if he doesnt pan out you have a future...Me being a Bronco fan do not see a issue with this move after the heck we went through

@@robertotrevino1796if cousins doesn’t work out, what makes you think Penix is gonna work with the same roster? 😂 I’m sure you being a broncos fan whose team has also been in qb hell for the past decade is shading your perspective, but it’s stupid to sign a qb to a huge contract, then draft another qb that high a few weeks later to have that qb sit. That 100 million that’s going to cousins could have signed a few more players to flesh out the roster and then you could’ve drafted penix and let him grow with a solid roster and supporting cast This is gonna be hilarious to watch

@@KevD720 again coming from a situation where we paid high dollars for a QB they didn’t work out having a young kid in the wings would have made the transition to move in way better…now there is no pressure for penix he can learn the offense with no rush…yes that money could have gone to other spots but at the same time if he pans out and they win a Super Bowl doesn’t matter…this contract after 2 years will be cut worth and penix can slide in for the future…it isn’t a bad idea

@@robertotrevino1796 Pittsburgh got Russell Wilson for a thank you and a high 5 for 1 season lol Atlanta paid a 36 yo coming off injury 100 million. I’m sure you can see the difference Another think about nfl contracts is dead money. You say cousins can be gone in 2 years. But if that happens the falcons have a dead cap charge of 25 million the next year, which again is money that can’t be used for teammates for penix. Penix is an older young kid as well I don’t get how yall are defending this but have at it lol

@@KevD720 obviously I am talking about when Wilson was given a contract with the broncos lol…again it ain’t your team buddy they win a Super Bowl all this gonna be for nothing they are in a good spot and even with dead money cap you can spread it out…just saying man know football a little

maybe you do if you have 100 bill

Crazy take man. You pay that kind of money for a competent QB. Plain and simple. That’s the going rate. Kirk Cousins is good enough that he can win the NFC South. That’s the first option because Free Agency happens first. Have to lock him in because in the offseason, realizing you had THREE WHOLE FUCKING YEARS OF Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, Desmond Ridder then Taylor Heinicke again….. CLEARLY shows the QB position ain’t some shit you can just put anybody in and be ok. Our defense in ONE YEAR doubled its sack count with a new coordinator. I get it, people want a pass rush like the old Bears or old broncos or even the new Eagles…… but the WORST thing about our team last year (or last FEW years) was QB play. Kirk Cousins is what Mariota was. A stop-gap QB. A very high tier stop-gap QB. But then what??? Settle for Heinicke to be his backup?????? Then what do we do??? Wait until next year or the year after to find a long term QB like Matt Ryan??? RISKY!!! How about since we suck so much, we got a Top-10 pick, let’s invest in our future while letting our money (100M for Kirk) work for us?! Because Kirk is good enough to win our division, what happens when we start picking in the 20s or 30s next year???? We’d have to give up every fucking pick we own to get back in the Top-10 of WHATEVER year we do it, just to get a decent QB…. Nah, I’ll pass. This was the right lick and it makes PLENTY SENSE! Why wait when you can secure him now? $100 mil for the vet who can win the division. Draft a rookie to succeed him for the future. Simple. Better than what Arthur Smith was thinking .

Because that is the market price for a competent veteran QB, kirk cousins won't be playing till 45 like tom brady so they got themselves a quarterback they know can start and drafted for their future all at once. I don't understand why people are so confused by them making smart decisions for now and the future

The money they paid Kirk Cousins is the type of money you pay for any starting QB who isn't horrible in free agency to be a starter. The mental gynmastics ppl have not understanding that it's a PRIVILEGE to be able to do both and not a negative is laughable. Most of the time teams aren't in position to have a QB who can play at a top 12 level now while also getting a QB who can be top 10 QB in the future. The Falcons are and they are taking advantage. The chances they will be in draft position to get a QB as good as Penix Jr in the future after seasons with Kirk Cousins is slim and none. And if Penix Jr becomes a top 10 QB that's worth 10x more than any pass rusher they could have acquired with the 8th pick

IMO they fell in love with Penix as a prospect even though he makes no sense in this scenario. If you're picking a guy to start two years from now, why pick someone that old? If you're worried about injuries with Cousins, why pick an injury prone prospect? And you're pissing off both QBs because Cousins is surprised you want to move on so fast and Penix is surprised he has to wait even longer to get real experience in the league.

Boo, your comment is bad and you should feel bad.@@w00deey12

ROFL....awesome!

odd bc she's wrong

Her and all the people freaking out about this pick just don't understand the draft and its purpose I guess. They paid cousins because they needed a quarterback that can start now and get them wins but they know he won't play until he's 40 so they're preparing for the future

@@memebobs9011so why give him 180 mil ? lol the issue isn’t getting Kirk, it’s giving him all that money guaranteed AND getting another QB

​@memebobs9011 If it was a pick in which the QB needs to sit and learn for two years, then no one would care. It's the fact that Penix doesn't need to sit and learn for two years. You either wait for the draft and pick Penix, then fill the team up with needs with that $100 million guaranteed... or, you go with Cousins and fill the teams needs through the draft. You don't do both. The Falcons are quite literally a dog chasing their own tail by doing both.

@@distortedsoul27 IT doesn't matter that Penix Jr doesn't need to sit, what matters is if he's going to be a top 10 QB or not. If the Falcons think he is, then he can sit a couple years and still be far younger than ppl are pretending he will be by 2026. Pretending that 26 is ancient when Love/Rodgers started their 1st year at 25 is laughable. Yeah one year is some whopping difference. ANd pretending that the dead cap hit of 25M will break the bank is also laughable esp with today's rookie pay structure

He puts the blame on Ridder, Heinicke and Mariota... just maybe the problem is deeper than whose throwing the ball?

Mina is wrong just like every other talking head acting confused about why they would draft penix. Kirk Cousins isn't gonna take a deal for anything less than what he gave him, that's the market price for a veteran competent qb that can start now. Taking Penix just prepares them for the future and gives him an opportunity to sit behind a qb who's seen it all

@@runningbeard7380nahhhh everybody knows the falcons are loaded on offense. It’s their QB has been the issue and been the issues since Matt Ryan retired

Literally it's the opposite. Her position represents the toxicity of culture by trying to case dispersions on even sensible decisions that teams make just because somebody has to play the role of villian or fool. It's very obvious that if Penix Jr becomes a top 10 QB that's worth 10x more than any defensive skill player the Falcons could have acquired at #8. Anyone who thinks a DE who still needs to develop is the difference of the Falcons winning the Super Bowl in the next 2 years with Cousins is a moron.

Dan sometimes has the craziest takes that I don't think he even believes lol

There’s no guarantee ATL will pick this high in the next 3 years, there’s no guarantee Kirk will fully recover. YES, Penix is not a developmental pick, he could probably start right away, however now that ATL has a QB, they have a few years to use all their picks for defense and weapons. Looking at next year NCAA QB’s, there’s no QB with the talent of Penix coming out. Great pick ATL.

@@geraldos9094 and all those money used on Kirk were wasted instead of signing couple good defensive players

@@duongdo1 Your statement depends on a lot of “What if”. What if Kirk doesn’t fully recover from the Achilles injury? What if he’s not an effective QB anymore at age 36? What if the Falcons will never be in the #8 spot to pick another QB? Now that the Falcons have a QB, they can spend the next 3 years picking good defensive players while Penix is on his rookie contract. There are a LOT of good defensive players, there are not a LOT of good QB’s….you got to take them when you can.

⁠@@geraldos9094you know what else could’ve gotten them some defense and weapons for their rookie qb? The 100 million they gave to Kirk cousins that they won’t have available to give to defense and weapons 😂 I need your plug’s number

@@geraldos9094 you’re talking real goofy rn lol you don’t have to worry about Kirk’s Achilles if you don’t sign him in the first place duh 😂 you don’t have to worry about if he’s effective either The whole point of building on the rookie contract is to take advantage of the fact you have a good player on a lower contract. You don’t sign another player to the same position (a 36 year old coming off an Achilles on that) to a 100,000,000 guaranteed contract so one of them isn’t on the field 😂

In his defense, Dan is VERY handsome and good natured!

QBs are so protected too, Penix easily will be a starter realistically age 26-35.

Penix, has had 2 major injuries in college. Plus, his rookie deal is huge. He's the 8 pick

Exactly! Mistake is giving cousins all this money, Orlovsky is spot on with the logic of this pick. Go Penix!

@wack8589 rookie deal isn't huge since they restructured rookie deals years ago. Rookies make like $10 million. Cousins is making $50 million per year. If isn't even close. Penix looked perfectly fine last year. Injuries to a 20 something year old and a 36 year old are not the same

Kirk Cousins and his agent are brilliant at conning the team owners to pay him top QB money that does not align with his track records. Cousins' total career salary will exceed Tom Brady's total career salary and Cousins has only 1 playoff win. Stephen Ames is absolutely right! The Vikings dodged a bullet with not re-signing Cousins for a second time. They were stupid to resign him after the first contract.

I love mina

@@doffydonquixte She is the best person on ESPN

I completely disagree with her... she's only going off analytics instead of actual football analysis. What happens if cousins isn't playing well which has happened before or he gets injured again... then you stuck with a no name back up qb nobody cares about trying to keep your season alive and next year's draft class isn't as great for qbs.... you draft a solid qb like penix and something happens to cousins or cousins isn't performing at his old age and penix is winning and looking good and the locker room is strong then where these analytics people gonna be then?

@chrismalik1579 That's a lot of what ifs. If you look at the history of Cousins, he has put up the numbers. The major issue has been the Vikings' defense, giving up almost 25 points a game during Cousin's tenure. The Falcons should have looked at the Vikings history and drafted a push rusher since they have a major problem in that area.

​@@chrismalik1579The other guys on the panel are strictly using football analysis 😂😂😂

And ain't nothing wrong with that 👍🏾

If he wasn't black he likely wouldn't be coach either.

Likelihood of tearing your Achilles or the other one 9 months after recovery is way higher than and ACL injury which hasn’t occurred in 2 years.

Achilles tear for Kirk so yeah it’s even worse

They'll draft Jordan Travis in the second round. lol

Now they'll draft a QB in the 2nd round haha

@@Bman32x not just one acl injury he’s had 2 and his shoulder is a lil wonky

They just didn’t learned a lesson from Broncos 😂

Because they’re a poorly run organization

​@@gmsimosoncould have literally got Russel Wilson for a box of crayons and still drafted penix and not owe 100 million gtd

You are right brother I like you

They didn't know it would be a QB they valued that much who would be available at their draft pick. Penix blew them away in the evaluation process. Literally all yall going to look foolish if PEnix is actually good. Who cares how much Cousins makes because of rookie QB scale, they can cut him and absorb the dead cap hit money and still be competitive as long as Penix plays like a 40M QB in 2 years

Your volume button will do the trick lol

Or maybe you could just leave and go back home to your Karen ass mama, boy!

Exactly

It was a good pick and we got him now deal with it or get the hell on 😂

You must have the memory of a goldfish to forget what last season looked like with QBs getting hurt left and right. Everyone is saying Jordan Love but this will be more like Flacco-Lamar being that Penix will take over this year most likely regardless of record if he’s playing good. And wtf is Kirk gonna say he’s 35 I’m sure he’s more than fine with being a guy getting a solid check in his mid to late 30s

Their backup plan is ending up with a top pick next year, might be better than spending top pick on backup

​@@Fleury4Great point! That's why it doesn't make sense for the falcons. If cousins gets injured then we get a top 10 pick again and can get our quarterback next year

Who’s the blue franchise saving qb in the next upcoming drafts though?

Not to mention Rodgers was coming off a down year, and he had started the Brett Farve talks of retirement.

@@notsure278 The Packers have trouble for years against the run and need more help than people think. Rodgers is getting older and it shows in the playoffs after a long season. Besides Brady not many qbs are effective when they get close to 40

@@notsure278 No they drafted Love after going to the championship game against the 49ers

​@@notsure278Rodgers did not start Favre talking about retirement. I was actually in the media in GB during the change of command. Favre threatened to retire at least the 5 seasons leading up to the team dumping him, we suspected mostly just so he could avoid OTAs and such. I'm not sure he even still held the softball game at the end. 😂

And Rodgers and Love did not start until they were 25. Y’all always leave that part out. Penix will only be 26 in 2026

ok would falcons fans be mad w the results the Packers have had at QB by basically doing this twice?

My thoughts exactly. The only thing he brings to a debate is VOLUME. I would HATE having him as a co-worker in ANY context.

It’s only 2 years garunteed

Man y'all just be saying anything just to say it.

Trying to make a point, but the vet was getting a fairly low salary, and the rookie they drafted was in round 3, but they're basically the same situation. LOL

Because it's a good pick people are not getting we are not going to be in this situation in a while. Not to mention we're going to lose a high draft pick next year for tampering. They had to get their quarterback and they got him.

lts a dumb move...and the results will be known in the year or so. Pennix will eventually request a trade or be cut.

If it wasn't for Cousins, it would be a solid pick, but you spent the farm on a QB to the tune of 50 million a year for the next 2 years. Now you have a QB controversy with the possibility of 2 pissed off QBs. You've got a team ready to make a run, and you just told your starting QB (that you paid all that jack to) that he's a place holder for your rookie.

@@scott4825 but that should have been obvious he's 36. It's not like he was going to be here long-term anyway. This is the NFL he'll be all right.

@@True-Lies41 JMO, it just creates locker room problems. He feels that he's an established vet who has earned a starting job, and the salary supported that. Then his new team was sitting pretty at pick #8 to load them up with another big weapon to make a run, and they draft his replacement. Hard to be a team guy when your management gives you a big vote of no confidence. So he's going to be kind of pissed at the organization, and anytime he has a bad game, everyone will be calling for the young guy who looks great in camp to be the starter. Then if he's solid for 2 years, do you put the future in, or do you let him sit for 3 years only to give him a chance at the tail end of his contract? This isn't some late 1st round pick, or 2nd rounder. At pick #8, he shouldn't be sitting like that. My feeling is that Cousins isn't going to be quite the same player that he would have been. Then you'll have some older vets wanting to win now with Cousins and younger guys wanting to look towards the future. My guess is that there was already a rift and him ratting them out for tampering had something to do with hit.

This is the same organization that made dumb decisions to draft a tight end and a running back with top ten picks in the draft when competent NFL front offices draft running backs and tight ends in the second and third rounds. My confidence could not get much lower than the Falcons front office!

Exactly. No one is going to give pushback though because everybody wants to be a stan for Mina. IN reality she just wont admit her real skepticism is of Penix Jr being worthy of a top 10 pick. The rest is a smokescreen. Because the Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts despite Wentz just signing a new deal for 100M guaranteed himself a year earlier. She liked the pick of Jalen because she thought he was worth the draft capital. She should just admit she doesn't think Penix is worthy of a top 10 pick. Becuase if he's a top 10 QB it's a brilliant move.

@@truthbearer7891nope, even in the best case scenario where Penix is great they still fucked up then by giving Kirk a huge contract. That’s why it’s so objectively stupid, even if it works out they lose out

​@@briannettles669why are you still a fan just find another team to root for 😂

​@@truthbearer7891 Hurts was also a day two pick. Not a top 10 one.

That's it, exactly. I think Penix is a great pick for ATL - if they hadn't just signed Cousins to a ridiculous guaranteed contract. THEY could have signed Sam Darnold for $10MM as a bridge. The Vikings' front office is so much smarter than ATL, it's sort of embarrassing.

@@user-jc6pr5el5g desmond ridder was a bridge qb why would they go sign another mediocre unproven qb? That was the whole point of signing cousins to have a competent veteran qb that can start right away and give Penix someone to learn from

😂 man yal are slow we have the worst fan base

@@memebobs9011 Ridder is not a bridge QB, he's a 3rd round flyer who totally flamed out. A bridge QB is someone with solid experience as a starter but who's not good enough to be worthy of a long-term commitment - like Darnold or Brissett or Minshew etc. Cosuins is not a 'bridge', he's a franchise QB and they committed $90MM guaranteed over two years to him, AND with the 4yr deal he expected to retire in ATL. Now, they've told him he's not retiring there.

That's your opinion and it means nothing 😂 they got a plan and you can either trust it or get lost.

Yes. We may toss his ass on tue pile of "generational talents" who don't get it done. Hard to believe a "generational talent" was still there at No. 8, right? 😅😅😅

@@cobbler88 wanna put money on it

seems like you have horrible football opinions 😂

@@kxngmuzikig2417openly admitting to having trash takes is the first step I guess 😂

Dudes in the comment section simping for Mina the Asian female alongside molly and joy these dudes definitely don’t get girls real men don’t have to be thirsty for a female because that man is confident in his self the women are coming to him alpha male style instead of a beta male simp facts🤣🤣🤣💯

@@jerrellsmith6867 no one cares what you think of dudes weirdo.

Bro really thought he had her when he dropped Matt Flynn lol.

DO offered NO support for his contention that they couldn't have found the next QB later this year or in the 20s next year.

You do when you’re possibly going to face tampering sanctions and your $180MIL QB is an injury liability w/no late season success. It isn’t popular but teams that have done this are the franchises that consistently make deep playoff runs and are competitive, IE Andy Reid teams & GB. If you know this is your guy, and QB is so hard to get right, you don’t let experts who don’t lose their job when they’re wrong dictate your decision making.

But yet here you are WATCHING First Take, idiot! You just played your stupid self, boy!

Noisecheck you lying fanboy

I couldn't concur with you MORE!!!! I NEVER watch espn anymore!

“You don’t use a top 10 pick for the future”….. lmaooo man what are you even saying 😂😂😂

Which made more sense for the falcons to use that pick on of those positions except for a qb thats not gonna play for the next two seasons 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

So you think they should have waited until Kirk Cousins contract is up in a few years to go after a replacement qb?

2025 qb class is bad, and might not get a pick from tampering or going to playoffs

@@jasonhaberski6843 dont compare it to Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. People say it worked out fine, but did Green Bay win a Super Bowl? No, they didn't. We'll never know, but they didn't do AR any favors. A team that wants to win NOW doesn't allocate today's valuable resources into an "old" QB be time capsuled for upwards of 4 more years.

@@jasonhaberski6843None of the naysayers have an answer for that nor do they address the likelihood of picking high enough in draft to get best QB in future drafts if they have Cousins winning 9+ games the next few years

Kirk is 2 years garunteed andonly has 1 playoff win

Lol. Never

They should just get rid of the cap at this point. But totally agree. The likelihood of tearing the same Achilles or the other one due to overcompensation is VERY high.

The Falcons won't have a 1st round pick next year.

But if they're so worried about Kirk why sign him in the first place to so much guaranteed money. I think they gave him a no trade clause too. If they were so high on MPJ they should've just signed someone cheaper there was no way he wasn't going to be available at 8 so there was pretty much a guarantee of them getting him if they really liked him as much as Dan implied. If that's the case, why pay another QB so much money especially if you don't trust his health?

Thanks for explaining this!!!! This needs to be pinned at the top!!

It's 25M in dead cap space, so even in year 3 they'll spend 40M on QBs in 2026 at a bare minimum. They get one cheap year of Penix at age 27, which is so silly. This collection of decisions is so dumb.

He sidestepped the actual criticisms, though. You could say what he said to justify much more glaringly stupid moves than this.

If you didn't trust Cousins to be healthy, they could've structured the contract where they could move off of it in a year. They set it up where even if they trade Kirk in year 2 the other team won't eat the money, they will still. That's poor process

Yet the Falcons did exactly that. They trusted Cousins enough to give him $100 million guaranteed and that’s the point she’s making.

BIGGIE I AGREE WITH U 1,000 PERCENT.

DO avoided the reasons people criticized the pick, and Smiff was nonsensical. 😅😅😅