To be a fly on an NFL Draft wall.
Video footage from inside the Falcons’ 2024 NFL Draft room surfaced online after Atlanta selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick and things looked… serious.
Falcons GM Terry Fontenot and owner Arthur Blank appeared to be in a serious discussion after the NFL commissioner announced the pick.
An animated Fontenot was seemingly explaining something to Blank, who interjected at one point, as seen in the video.
Many speculated that Blank was questioning the pick because the Falcons signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract, with $100 million guaranteed in March.
“Kirk Cousins is our quarterback,” Fontenot told reporters after the first round. “We’re very excited about Kirk. We’re very excited about this team. Michael Penix is… we’re talking about the future. You look at the future.
“You look at the big picture. We are very excited about that quarterback room, and again, Kirk is our quarterback. But adding Michael Penix is thinking about the future.”
Cousins wasn’t aware the Falcons were taking Penix with their eighth pick, his agent, Mike McCartney, told NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.
“I just reached out to his agent… Kirk Cousins was not really given a heads up on this whole thing,” Jeremiah said on the broadcast after Rich Eisen was surprised the Falcons went with another quarterback after the huge Cousins deal.
Fans had a field day on social media with the now-viral moment.
“Read the body language of everyone in that room… yikes. lol,” one person wrote.
“This very much looks like Terry Fontenot trying to explain himself,” another added.
“Pretty sure [former Patriots head coach and GM] Bill Belichick would not have taken a quarterback there,” one person quipped.
“He’s about to get that HR email tomorrow morning,” another said.
It’s possible that the Falcons are being proactive as Cousins — who turns 36 in August — is coming off an Achilles injury he sustained last season.
Fontenot said in a pre-draft press conference Tuesday that Cousins took the field during Atlanta’s voluntary minicamp earlier this week.
He also expressed confidence in Cousins — who previously said he would be “full speed” before training camp in July.
Two days before the draft, a story on the team website read in part: “The Falcons believe they found what they were looking for in Cousins during free agency, and they’ll look for another multiplier heading into the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday.”
