The Atlanta Falcons embarrassed themselves during the 2024 NFL Draft

Somehow, taking a QB inside the top 10 got the Atlanta Falcons roasted, but it was for good reason. What were they thinking? After signing Kirk Cousins to a deal that nears $200 million, the Falcons shockingly took a quarterback with their eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Michael Penix Jr heard his name called and was the fourth QB off the board.

It was a downright inexcusable selection by Atlanta, who had all of the best defensive prospects on the board with their first-round selection. To make matters worse, Penix is already turning 24 years old in May, so by the time that Penix could get a shot to start in the NFL for Atlanta, he'd be pushing 30 years old.

It's a huge mess for the Falcons, and after the pick, it genuinely looked like Falcons GM Terry Fontenot was trying to explain the selection to Falcons owner Arthur Blank:

This honestly felt like the worst possible outcome for Falcons fans, who were surely pounding the table for a pass-rusher. Now, at this point, it feels like the Falcons front office totally overcompensated with the QB situation or even had an ultimatum from someone like Blank

Purple FTW!, A Vikings podcast, posted this to their Twitter account:

And you know what, it makes sense. Maybe Arthur Blank did force Fontenot and his front office mates to sign Kirk Cousins. Maybe that was a directive from Blank, who was surely tired of watching his Falcons teams win seven games each season. And maybe Fontenot did draft Michael Penix Jr out of defiance.

You really never know. For Blank, maybe he wanted someone who plays like his former QB, Matt Ryan, and that could have been an influence on them signing Kirk Cousins, but whatever the case it, it's a huge mess that the Atlanta Falcons are in, and they just downright embarrassed themselves with that first-round selection.