QB decision puts pressure on Falcons GM Terry Fontenot

Arguably, no one has more at stake over the next three weeks than Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot. With the Kirk Cousins era already reaching an unceremonious end, Atlanta was forced to shred its master plan.

Ever since drafting quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Cousins’ replacement for the rest of the season, everyone in the Falcons organization, including Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris, has stressed the long-term vision behind their shocking NFL Draft decision.

Start Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract in March, and allow Penix to study behind him.

“This is a pick thinking about the future,” Fontenot said hours after the team selected Penix. (h/t Sports Illustrated)

The Falcons entered the season as the favorite to win the NFC South. Giving Penix the equivalent of a college football redshirt as Cousins led the team to the postseason was an enticing strategy. After all, it worked pretty well when the Chiefs did it with Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes in 2017.

That blueprint also insulated Fontenot from criticisms of Atlanta drafting Penix, making a luxury selection when the Falcons had a glaring need (and still do) at edge-rusher.

But Fontenot has no cover as Penix prepares to start the rest of the season. If he struggles, the Falcons could have a serious decision to make about Fontenot’s future.

The team’s general manager for the past four seasons, he constructed three 7-10 rosters from 2021-23. At 7-7 this season, the Falcons could still make it four of four.

In his first four NFL Drafts, Fontenot used four top-10 picks on offensive players, including tight end Kyle Pitts (No. 4, 2021), wide receiver Drake London (No. 8, 2022), running back Bijan Robinson (No. 8, 2023) and Penix (No. 8, 2024).

Atlanta hasn’t finished better than 15th in scoring offense during the Fontenot era. This season, the Falcons are 21st in scoring (20.9 points per game).

Fontenot has passed on several outstanding young defenders, including edge defenders Jared Verse, Micah Parsons and lineman Jalen Carter. Each would have been extremely valuable for a team with arguably the league’s worst pass rush.

This season, the Falcons rank last in sacks (23) and 26th in pressure rate (19.8 percent). During Fontenot’s tenure, the Falcons have 104 sacks, 23 fewer than the Panthers, who rank 31st in the league in sacks during that span.

In rationalizing the team’s bold decision to draft Penix a month after signing Cousins to a lucrative multiyear contract, Falcons brass was bullish on the team’s 2024 potential.

“We don’t want to be back in this position again to pick this guy,” Morris said at the time.

After landing a top-10 pick in four consecutive drafts, Atlanta was hoping to make its selections in the 20s — at the earliest — in 2025 and beyond. Fontenot’s response to Morris rings accurate, just not in the way he might have expected in April.

“We won’t be,” he said.