The Atlanta Falcons quite possibly made the most shocking top 10 pick in recent NFL Draft history when they selected Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall in last year’s draft just months after signing Kirk Cousins to a six-figure contract on the open market.
Despite the head-scratching selection, the Falcons may be justified in making that decision after Cousins’ underwhelming performance in 2024.
This begs the question… Can Penix end the Falcons’ seven-year postseason drought in 2025?
Many fantasy football pundits had high hopes for Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts entering the 2024 NFL season with a competent veteran quarterback like Kirk Cousins taking over under center. Well, it worked out very well for Bijan and London — but not so much for Pitts.
The aforementioned Bijan and London both finished as top 5 options at their respective positions. London by registering his first 100-reception and 1,000-yard season of his NFL career. Additionally, Robinson produced over 1,800 total yards and 15 scores after seeing 93 more total touches from his rookie to sophomore season.
What is even wilder is this jump in production from both Robinson and London despite the poor play of Cousins throughout the majority of the season.
Cousins threw a career-high 16 interceptions in just 14 games of action with just 8 touchdown passes, which tied his touchdown production from 2023 with six more games played.
Perhaps Pitts was simply the odd man out in this equation, but this marked the third year in a row where the talented tight end prospect failed to top 700 yards or 55 receptions in a season.
Yet, optimism comes in the form of Michael Penix Jr. starting under center in 2025.
Penix threw for over 200 yards in all three starts his rookie year, where he finished with 775 passing yards to go with three touchdown passes and three interceptions.
While the numbers may not blow you away, Penix clearly was willing to push the ball vertically down the field far more often than Cousins with 2.6 more intended air yards per attempt than his veteran counterpart.
This bodes well for London and, yes, even Pitts entering the 2025 NFL season.
Unfortunately, the defensive side of the football is going to be a major cause for concern the Falcons this year. The pass-rushing production was amongst the worst in the league and this team parted ways with Grady Jarrett in the offseason.
Even with the defensive concerns on the roster, this offense could be explosive enough to compete for a division crown — if Penix manages to take this offense to new heights in 2025.