Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
(Florham Park, NJ) – One of the most discussed picks during the 2024 NFL Draft was the Atlanta Falcons selection of Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick.
And not for good reasons. Many fans and pundits alike were puzzled given the team just signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year contract.
Now it appears that was not the only bold move Atlanta attempted to pull off. Video taken during the draft shows Jets’ QB Joe Douglas telling someone off screen that the Falcons planned to pick at No. 8 and then wanted to come back up to No. 10 and make a second first-round selection.
The Falcons’ team website doesn’t throw cold water on that notion. GM Terry Fontenot says the team “had guys that we obviously were trying to get back into the first for.”
Eventually the Minnesota Vikings pulled off a trade with the Jets and used the No. 10 pick to select another QB – Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. Atlanta never ended up making a second pick in the first round but did move up in the second round to pick DT Ruke Orhorhoro out of Clemson.
In the team article website that quoted Fontenot, he said the team was also interested in picking a QB. The first defensive back taken was Quinyon Mitchell, taken 22nd overal by the Philadelphia Eagles.
