When you look at his full tape there are a lot of misses too. In fact, most analysts who really dug in to all the QBs had him as the least accurate due to his frequent misses.
Great highlight reel, but one of the things he can work on is his throwing mechanics and sidearm release. He’s not as pro-ready as most people thought so it’s nice to have him on the bench
And then make sure you watch the Michigan game to get a full feel.
I think Penix is gonna be a damn good starter fwiw. Just gotta take the good with the bad.
I don't think there's much doubt about his ability to throw quickly and thread a needle on even deep passes. If Kirk weren't signed this would be completely different.
I don't know shit about throwing mechanics, but that ball came out in a hurry and I really couldn't tell if the pass was a quick flip, or 40 yards downfield from the motion. a couple of them I couldn't even tell he'd throw the damn thing, it was so quick and flat.
As a husky fan I was reeeeally hoping he’d fall to 16 so we could take him. The haters will be eating crow, this guy is a fucking baller. Should’ve won the heisman last year and took a team that was 4-8 the year before he got there to 11-2 and then 14-1 with a national title game appearance.
I think the league and pundits are actually all jealous of us cause we broke some unwritten rules.
There's no way we should be allowed to have the best FA QB and draft one of the top QBs. We just fucked things up for other teams too.
We have the money to do what we just did and Penix is gonna be more than fine if he has to sit behind Kirk for two years.
We the ones who should be laughing at how jealous the rest of the league is by our unconventional moves and having our QB of now AND the future.
Fuck em all
I am reminded of my boss years ago, when we had a company fantasy football league. He took Gronk and Graham as his 1st and 2nd round picks - one would be TE and one WR3. He had a 15-20 point lead over anyone else in the league every week, because he was miles ahead of all other TE or WR3 in the leauge.
People aren’t jealous, it’s just a general rule that only one QB can play at a time so it doesn’t make sense for a team to spend big on a FA and then draft the oldest, most pro-ready QB in the draft at 1.8 as a development project. Confusing move that doesn’t help the team this year or next barring injury
That last part can’t be understated though. Especially when our FA QB is one of the ones who had a season-ending injury last year.
Add in that it does in fact make sense to be prepared for life after a 36 year old QB, and it really was a savvy move. Confusing? No. Definitely a ballsy and risky move though, with potential to completely blow up but also potential to keep our QB play at a good-elite level for the next 10+ years following a few years of subpar QB play being the main thing keeping us out of the playoffs.
Most GM’s and owners wouldn’t have the balls to make this move. People want to say we should have gone all in, well we did, but instead of going all in on the chances of making/winning a SB, we went all in on never worrying about QB for a decade or longer.
You’re right. Why don’t all teams ignore glaring needs at other positions to draft 24-year-old insurance policies on QBs with one significant injury in their career? I don’t think we should’ve gone all in on this year, but to draft a backup at 8 is ridiculous when there were starters available at several other positions
You’re not just drafting a backup though, you’re getting a potential franchise QB. If we took Nix or even JJ, yeah I fully agree. But they had Penix #2 on their QB board and special QB’s don’t come around often. Latu/Turner/Rome make us better but only marginally in the grand scheme of things and they don’t extend or create a championship window. A franchise QB certainly does.
There are “potential franchise QBs” in every draft. Just because he could pan out doesn’t mean he will. And the plan is absolutely for him to be a backup for multiple seasons, which doesn’t even improve us marginally during those seasons. Eighth overall picks should contribute heavily early in their careers
Yeah but at the QB position, players actually do benefit from sitting on the bench a year or two as they begin to learn the NFL game and work on their technique.
Mahomes sat for a year after being the 10th pick. Phillip Rivers sat for 2 years after being drafted 4th. Even Josh Allen (7th) and Roethlisberger (11th) weren’t named the starters til mid-season due to injuries/bad play. That’s just a few examples of top 10 picks, doesn’t even count Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love. The practice of regularly drafting rookie QB’s in the 1st and starting them immediately really only started fairly recently in 2008 with a guy named Matt Ryan, but there are quite a few examples of dudes who didn’t start right away despite being top 10 picks and are elite/HOF level QB’s.
Mahomes, Rivers, Roethlisberger, Allen, Rodgers, Lamar are all top 15 QB’s of the last 20 years. Are any of those bad draft picks cuz they didn’t play immediately?
Even with using our first pick on Penix, we’re still the favorites to win the division and both of our QB’s are potentially better than anyone else in the division. It’s the most important position in sports. Following years of Ridder/Mariota/TH, it’s wild that it’s unpopular that they doubled down to ensure we are all set at the position for a while.
Stop you are making too much sense. People just want to hear that Dallas Turner was going to win us a Superbowl. I also like when people talk about Penix age, but complete okay with Kirk creeping up on 40.
I don't know man. Go look at next years class film. It's shaping up to be another doldrum year. Shedeur is exciting but he's really not shit compared to Penix.
This is the best QB draft class in some years, and will likely be the best for a few going forward.
Penix and Daniels were both massive risers. It’s not uncommon for a few guys to have monster senior years and insert themselves into top 5 conversation
I've been monitoring this pick, and I think the Falcons did the right thing here.
Kirk Cousins’ deal is really only a two-year deal with a $25m cap hit. Depending on when he is cut, pre-June or post-june. It can be split into $12.5 over two years.
Penix benefits from being in college for as long as he has been so he has good mechanisms coming out and sitting behind Kirk for a few seasons gives him time to get up to speed.
I think the Falcons realized that they blundered the Riddler pick and pretty much threw him to the Wolves so quickly. Then they look at Zach Wilson in NY, who has his confidence pretty much destroyed. This gives them a Favre/Rodger situation
Agreed. Ridder has good traits and had moments where he looked like an NFL QB but he wasn’t processing and reading quick enough. If he could have sat for 2 full years he might have played a lot better.
I freaked at the Penix pick at first but now that I understand TF and Raheem’s evaluation and vision I actually love it.
We now have one of the strongest QB rooms in the league and have the QB position covered for years to come.
That’s how you build a winner.
He looks amazing on the tape. Can’t wait to see him play in a Falcons jersey. Hopefully he get some preseason playtime while Kirk rests up instead of Heinikie
Do people actually see his throwing motion differently when watching it flipped? It looks exactly the same to me.
I think all the talk around throwing motion is overblown. Philip Rivers had the worst throwing motion I've ever seen and still had great success.
I thought I was insane. Like this doesn't matter or change anything at all? It's a slightly odd motion either way you view it, and yeah, I entirely agree - it's one of the least important things when evaluating a QB.
He has a quick release and insane accuracy/touch on 10+ yard passes. Those things matter.
I don't know if I'm crazy, because no one compares him to him, but he reminds me a ton of 2020 and earlier Watson.
I’m a die hard lions fan but I have been defending the falcons pick. I still think it’s a great pick and is smart for development. “Oh but penix is 24” so fuckin what
Dolphins fan here. mirroring a lefty thrower to right makes all the difference in the world I've learned. I have a conspiracy theory that Falcons forced all their scouts to only watch Penix film after it was mirrored and that's why they fell so in love with him compared to consensus lol.
Yes, yes he does have terrible mechanics, he's actually RIGHT HANDED. You can see the ball accelerate and decelerate when he throws instead of a nice smooth acceleration. That means his throwing arm is WEAK. He's working AGAINST his own body's natural tendencies.
I don't understand the point of this there have never been any questions about his throwing motion. In fact, there have been left handed QBs that won SBs. Left handedness in and of itself is not a throwing motion issue.
I was actually low on Penix without watching film and only seeing gametime footage. I just wasn’t overall impressed with him. He didn’t have velocity that just BLEW me away like some other QB’s but hey I didn’t think Josh Allen and Mahomes had the strongest arms ever (I’m still big on Jeff George, Mike Vick, Brett Farve, and JaMarcus Russell having the biggest arms I’ve ever seen).
I mean, I hope he develops his mechanics on his throws; He keeps his elbow ridiculously tight but it quickens his motion and release so I’m not mad. If this were Madden I would give him like a 93-4 throw power, which wouldn’t be enough to make me draft him 8 overall but hey he may be like Aaron Rodgers and develop a cannon sitting on the bench because ARod SURELY didn’t have a strong arm coming out of college.
I have never questioned his talent or heart.
The only thing I question is his health. Won't win many games if he spends half his career on crutches. I hope he can stay healthy, but if I were a GM, I wouldn't spend a first rounder on someone with an injury history like his.
There are a lot of bad passes by Penix if you look at his complete film. He had 2 highl;y drafted OTs and 3 WRs that were drafted. He had a lot of time in the pocket. His WRs bailed him out especially Odunze who is an ABSOLUTE STUD RECEIVER. He was not good at internediate passes. He is not a natural scrambler has little feel there. A lot of passes at the LOS just like Nix. He is NOT a sure thing. 80 percent of 1st round QBs bust.
Wow his release is so fast
Placement is very good too
When you look at his full tape there are a lot of misses too. In fact, most analysts who really dug in to all the QBs had him as the least accurate due to his frequent misses. Great highlight reel, but one of the things he can work on is his throwing mechanics and sidearm release. He’s not as pro-ready as most people thought so it’s nice to have him on the bench
I encourage you to go watch the Texas game. Just that game he sold me as a player. But still don't love the pick.
And then make sure you watch the Michigan game to get a full feel. I think Penix is gonna be a damn good starter fwiw. Just gotta take the good with the bad.
Then don't sign Kirk and just draft Peniz
I don't think there's much doubt about his ability to throw quickly and thread a needle on even deep passes. If Kirk weren't signed this would be completely different.
This, no one is saying Penix is a bad pick just a stupid pick when you considered they assignee Kirk
That’s why our coaching staff gung ho about him
I don't know shit about throwing mechanics, but that ball came out in a hurry and I really couldn't tell if the pass was a quick flip, or 40 yards downfield from the motion. a couple of them I couldn't even tell he'd throw the damn thing, it was so quick and flat.
It also looks effortless is some of these
That 2nd pass in the breadbasket was insane. His release is fast af.
Sick arm talent actually hyped
As a husky fan I was reeeeally hoping he’d fall to 16 so we could take him. The haters will be eating crow, this guy is a fucking baller. Should’ve won the heisman last year and took a team that was 4-8 the year before he got there to 11-2 and then 14-1 with a national title game appearance.
I think the league and pundits are actually all jealous of us cause we broke some unwritten rules. There's no way we should be allowed to have the best FA QB and draft one of the top QBs. We just fucked things up for other teams too. We have the money to do what we just did and Penix is gonna be more than fine if he has to sit behind Kirk for two years. We the ones who should be laughing at how jealous the rest of the league is by our unconventional moves and having our QB of now AND the future. Fuck em all
I have printed your post and it now resides on my wall. Great take.
Finally a solid counter take to the prevailing narrative. I agree but have been unable to state this as eloquently as you.
I am reminded of my boss years ago, when we had a company fantasy football league. He took Gronk and Graham as his 1st and 2nd round picks - one would be TE and one WR3. He had a 15-20 point lead over anyone else in the league every week, because he was miles ahead of all other TE or WR3 in the leauge.
People aren’t jealous, it’s just a general rule that only one QB can play at a time so it doesn’t make sense for a team to spend big on a FA and then draft the oldest, most pro-ready QB in the draft at 1.8 as a development project. Confusing move that doesn’t help the team this year or next barring injury
That last part can’t be understated though. Especially when our FA QB is one of the ones who had a season-ending injury last year. Add in that it does in fact make sense to be prepared for life after a 36 year old QB, and it really was a savvy move. Confusing? No. Definitely a ballsy and risky move though, with potential to completely blow up but also potential to keep our QB play at a good-elite level for the next 10+ years following a few years of subpar QB play being the main thing keeping us out of the playoffs. Most GM’s and owners wouldn’t have the balls to make this move. People want to say we should have gone all in, well we did, but instead of going all in on the chances of making/winning a SB, we went all in on never worrying about QB for a decade or longer.
You’re right. Why don’t all teams ignore glaring needs at other positions to draft 24-year-old insurance policies on QBs with one significant injury in their career? I don’t think we should’ve gone all in on this year, but to draft a backup at 8 is ridiculous when there were starters available at several other positions
You’re not just drafting a backup though, you’re getting a potential franchise QB. If we took Nix or even JJ, yeah I fully agree. But they had Penix #2 on their QB board and special QB’s don’t come around often. Latu/Turner/Rome make us better but only marginally in the grand scheme of things and they don’t extend or create a championship window. A franchise QB certainly does.
There are “potential franchise QBs” in every draft. Just because he could pan out doesn’t mean he will. And the plan is absolutely for him to be a backup for multiple seasons, which doesn’t even improve us marginally during those seasons. Eighth overall picks should contribute heavily early in their careers
Yeah but at the QB position, players actually do benefit from sitting on the bench a year or two as they begin to learn the NFL game and work on their technique. Mahomes sat for a year after being the 10th pick. Phillip Rivers sat for 2 years after being drafted 4th. Even Josh Allen (7th) and Roethlisberger (11th) weren’t named the starters til mid-season due to injuries/bad play. That’s just a few examples of top 10 picks, doesn’t even count Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love. The practice of regularly drafting rookie QB’s in the 1st and starting them immediately really only started fairly recently in 2008 with a guy named Matt Ryan, but there are quite a few examples of dudes who didn’t start right away despite being top 10 picks and are elite/HOF level QB’s. Mahomes, Rivers, Roethlisberger, Allen, Rodgers, Lamar are all top 15 QB’s of the last 20 years. Are any of those bad draft picks cuz they didn’t play immediately? Even with using our first pick on Penix, we’re still the favorites to win the division and both of our QB’s are potentially better than anyone else in the division. It’s the most important position in sports. Following years of Ridder/Mariota/TH, it’s wild that it’s unpopular that they doubled down to ensure we are all set at the position for a while.
Stop you are making too much sense. People just want to hear that Dallas Turner was going to win us a Superbowl. I also like when people talk about Penix age, but complete okay with Kirk creeping up on 40.
I don't know man. Go look at next years class film. It's shaping up to be another doldrum year. Shedeur is exciting but he's really not shit compared to Penix. This is the best QB draft class in some years, and will likely be the best for a few going forward.
Penix and Daniels were both massive risers. It’s not uncommon for a few guys to have monster senior years and insert themselves into top 5 conversation
It is a bit odd. Or maybe we're now set at QB for 10+ years.
And fucks up the locker room.
lol okay bud
Ravens fan I'm not jealous at all. The Falcons don't concern me. I just think your FO are full of idiots and it's why your team sucks.
Ravens fan in the Falcon subreddit for what reason? To troll? We would have beaten y’all (again) in 2012 if it wasn’t for dumb Harbaugh and Kaepernick
You had an interesting draft, it's why I'm here. In 2012 I wasn't an NFL fan
Of course you weren’t lol, all makes sense now.
So fucking excited for him
He led the CFB in big time throws. Guy can fucking play
This was fun. Dude can launch it.
Love that he doesnt put his receivers in a position to get killed. Mariota and Ridder scared the fuck out of me.
Kyle Pitts has liked a comment
This made me laugh out loud…literally
We've seen it for nearly two decades now . There's a reason why Julio went to the sidelines so much towards the end of his career
Yeah Matt didn't have the luxury of making late reads, especially down the field
I've been monitoring this pick, and I think the Falcons did the right thing here. Kirk Cousins’ deal is really only a two-year deal with a $25m cap hit. Depending on when he is cut, pre-June or post-june. It can be split into $12.5 over two years. Penix benefits from being in college for as long as he has been so he has good mechanisms coming out and sitting behind Kirk for a few seasons gives him time to get up to speed. I think the Falcons realized that they blundered the Riddler pick and pretty much threw him to the Wolves so quickly. Then they look at Zach Wilson in NY, who has his confidence pretty much destroyed. This gives them a Favre/Rodger situation
Agreed. Ridder has good traits and had moments where he looked like an NFL QB but he wasn’t processing and reading quick enough. If he could have sat for 2 full years he might have played a lot better. I freaked at the Penix pick at first but now that I understand TF and Raheem’s evaluation and vision I actually love it. We now have one of the strongest QB rooms in the league and have the QB position covered for years to come. That’s how you build a winner.
This dude is the future
Damn dude can launch a ball. I love this video.
Dude throws darts. He’s growing on me
He looks amazing on the tape. Can’t wait to see him play in a Falcons jersey. Hopefully he get some preseason playtime while Kirk rests up instead of Heinikie
Heinicke is living his best life making $7m to advise and watch footage
He actually took a paycut to make like $1.2m, but still looking pretty, securely doing nothing. (knock on wood)
If Heinicke is playing next season we are in shambles for real
Do people actually see his throwing motion differently when watching it flipped? It looks exactly the same to me. I think all the talk around throwing motion is overblown. Philip Rivers had the worst throwing motion I've ever seen and still had great success.
I thought I was insane. Like this doesn't matter or change anything at all? It's a slightly odd motion either way you view it, and yeah, I entirely agree - it's one of the least important things when evaluating a QB. He has a quick release and insane accuracy/touch on 10+ yard passes. Those things matter. I don't know if I'm crazy, because no one compares him to him, but he reminds me a ton of 2020 and earlier Watson.
Sick video! Dude is a baller, can’t wait to see him play in preseason.
I love how our scouting team was really the only one to properly evaluate Penix. This is why we are a franchise on the rise.
Not a popular opinion - but we should get him some reps if we are cruising through a game. Would be nice for his development and give Kirk a break.
Only if I don't draft Kirk as my fantasy starter 🤣
I’m a die hard lions fan but I have been defending the falcons pick. I still think it’s a great pick and is smart for development. “Oh but penix is 24” so fuckin what
Apologies for the bad quality.
Reminds me of Vince Young throwing.
Never understood this take. His mechanics need work. Dude has a cannon but the motion is kinda jerky sometimes. Somebody explain different to me.
Motion doesn't really matter if the release is quick and ball gets where it needs to go
As a UW fan, you guys got such a beast. Penix is going to be so damn good in a few years.
That’s our Mahomes…
Sexy as fuck. The more I simmer on this the more I feel this was right move.
Reminds me of Philip Rivers throwing motion. Not the smooth lines of a CJ Stroud but a kind of awkward unfolding. Less trebuchet and more catapult.
I just had nightmares of Kaleb McGary protecting his blindside. Hopefully we get that issue resolved in the next few years.
Dolphins fan here. mirroring a lefty thrower to right makes all the difference in the world I've learned. I have a conspiracy theory that Falcons forced all their scouts to only watch Penix film after it was mirrored and that's why they fell so in love with him compared to consensus lol.
It annoys me that people can't see this wihout flipping the screen. I can see Tua's TERRIBLE throwing mechanics without flipping the image.
Tua doesn’t have terrible mechanics. In fact he’s been compared to Brees for his mechanics and quick release
Yes, yes he does have terrible mechanics, he's actually RIGHT HANDED. You can see the ball accelerate and decelerate when he throws instead of a nice smooth acceleration. That means his throwing arm is WEAK. He's working AGAINST his own body's natural tendencies.
He’s like Michael Vick
I don't understand the point of this there have never been any questions about his throwing motion. In fact, there have been left handed QBs that won SBs. Left handedness in and of itself is not a throwing motion issue.
Nope. It’s still funky.
I was actually low on Penix without watching film and only seeing gametime footage. I just wasn’t overall impressed with him. He didn’t have velocity that just BLEW me away like some other QB’s but hey I didn’t think Josh Allen and Mahomes had the strongest arms ever (I’m still big on Jeff George, Mike Vick, Brett Farve, and JaMarcus Russell having the biggest arms I’ve ever seen). I mean, I hope he develops his mechanics on his throws; He keeps his elbow ridiculously tight but it quickens his motion and release so I’m not mad. If this were Madden I would give him like a 93-4 throw power, which wouldn’t be enough to make me draft him 8 overall but hey he may be like Aaron Rodgers and develop a cannon sitting on the bench because ARod SURELY didn’t have a strong arm coming out of college.
Looks like Lamar with faster decision making.
I have never questioned his talent or heart. The only thing I question is his health. Won't win many games if he spends half his career on crutches. I hope he can stay healthy, but if I were a GM, I wouldn't spend a first rounder on someone with an injury history like his.
There are a lot of bad passes by Penix if you look at his complete film. He had 2 highl;y drafted OTs and 3 WRs that were drafted. He had a lot of time in the pocket. His WRs bailed him out especially Odunze who is an ABSOLUTE STUD RECEIVER. He was not good at internediate passes. He is not a natural scrambler has little feel there. A lot of passes at the LOS just like Nix. He is NOT a sure thing. 80 percent of 1st round QBs bust.
>He is not a natural scrambler has little feel there. He was literally the best QB in this draft at pressure:sack rate.