Nearly two weeks later, the Atlanta Falcons continue to be one of the most talked about teams in football following their pick of Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 in this year’s NFL draft. That selection came after they signed Kirk Cousins to a $180-million deal.
While the question of why the Falcons made the pick continues to make headlines, the reality is that the franchise is now turning their attention to the season and on Wednesday, Steak Shapiro and Drew Butler decided it was time to change the conversation in regard to Cousins and Penix.
“Give me a scenario in five years where we go ‘wow, that Raheem Morris, Terry Fontenot decision was an absolute A,’” Shapiro asked as he and Butler shared their thoughts on what would be considered a win for the Falcons by drafting Penix. Believing that the move is “still unexplainable,” and that it took some time for him to come up with his thoughts on the topic, Butler shared what he believed to be the best-case scenario for all to makes sense.
“All I continue hearing for the comparison of Michael Penix Jr. to be a success is Steve Young,” Butler said, explaining that the “only scenario in which the Falcons made the right decision by getting Michael Penix,” would be for the former Washington Huskies signal-caller would have to be what Young was to Joe Montana.
Butler went on to tell Shapiro that he believes Cousins would have to win at least two Super Bowls over the next couple of seasons and then pass the reigns to Penix, who would then have to win a championship for the Falcons “five years late." In response, Shapiro shared that while he believes Cousins and the Falcons would need to have a couple of winning seasons, he disagreed that it needed to be Super Bowl wins.
“We go 11-6 this year, we go to the second round of the playoffs, we win our home game here,” Shapiro started off and added that the following season with Cousins under center would be a winning one as well. However being knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, which would lead to Penix taking the reins the following season.
“We don’t skip a beat. We have another playoff team in Year 3 with a younger quarterback and in five years, we’re playing in a Super Bowl with Michael Penix Jr.,” Shapiro said.
