If there is one player on the Atlanta Falcons fans will be keeping an eye on, it is most likely rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. as he was selected in the first round despite signing Kirk Cousins to a big contract. It was easily the most talked about selection of the entire NFL Draft, but fast forward to Friday as Penix made his training camp debut and spoke about his first practice.
“I can’t sit here and be star-struck no more,” Penix said Friday according to the team's website. “I’ve got to produce…I’ve just got to find the open guy and throw it to him. It’s not that hard.”
Penix talks being on the Falcons with Cousins
The main confusion came when Penix was selected with the eighth overall pick while in the same offseason, the Falcons gave Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract. Many thought the signing leads to the Falcons being in a “win now” mode, but selecting Penix prepares the franchise for the future rather than getting a ready-now player at a luxury pick.
Especially how with Penix's age being 24, he would be 27 years old by the end of Cousins' contract which has everybody debating why Atlanta made the move. In any case, Penix has a job to do and it's to be the backup to Cousins as the rookie said that it will be easy being with the veteran since they have the “same goals” which is to “win football games” according to The Associated Press.
“We’re on the same team. It’s not hard to approach that relationship. We’ve got the same goals. That’s to win football games,” Penix said. “It’s definitely going to be great. I’m super blessed to be able to be right here in this position with a veteran in front of me, just learning from him and going about my business each and every day and just trying to find ways to improve and get to where he is, multiple years in the league.”
Penix also revealed details from a conversation with Cousins on Friday, per ESPN's Falcons reporter Marc Raimondi.
“He said he was happy to see me and have me here and I just told him I can’t wait to work with him.”
Penix talks experiencing just a taste of the NFL
Penix was the fourth quarterback taken in the NFL Draft behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye as he comes out of the University of Washington. Last season for the left-handed signal-caller, he threw for 4,903 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions as he spoke about dreaming being on an NFL team since he was a child.
“This is something I've been dreaming of since I was a kid,” Penix said. “Now that I'm here, I want to continue to prove myself every day. Show not just myself but the team, I'm here. I'm here to work and here to help this team win football games anyway that I can.”
There is no doubt that Penix will have all the spotlight on him in terms of if he will be getting playing time this season, but looking at the situation he enters in, that is definitely an unfair sentiment. Unless Cousins gets injured during the season, Penix should be learning and sitting on the bench this upcoming Falcons season though Penix is confident the “results will show” in time.
“I feel like at this level – in the NFL – everybody is in the spotlight,” Penix said. “You got to prove yourself each and every day. That's the beauty of it. That's the beauty of this game. And that's why it's so rare for guys to make it. Like it's the 1%. So, you want in the spotlight.
“For me, I'm just going to be myself each and every day,” Penix continued. “Not try to be anybody else. Just go out there and put in the work I've always done. The results will show.”
Penix talks being a “student of the game”
If there is one aspect that Penix showed that he is ready to compete in the NFL, he knows the importance of being a “student of the game.” After Friday's practice, he said to the media that he wants to “soak in as much information” so that he's ready for the opportunity when it comes his way.
“That's what it's about, being a student of the game,” Penix said via the Falcons website. “You have to soak in as much information as you can, especially at this level. It only gets harder. Each and every level that you go up, it's going to get harder. But I'm ready for it.”
Penix has no control of the outside noise or even the team he goes to originally during the draft, but if there is something he can take away from Atlanta, it is that they spent a high pick to draft him despite having a productive player at the position. At the moment, Penix is the future of the Falcons and fans are going to have to live with it whether they like it or not.
In any sense, Atlanta is trying to improve after a disappointing 7-10 finish which put them third in the less than stellar NFC South behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints who both finished 9-8.
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