NFC Notes: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr., Spencer Rattler, Falcons, Panthers

Falcons

Atlanta shocked the league by taking 2024 first-round QB Michael Penix Jr. after committing $180 million to QB Kirk Cousins in free agency. Falcons S Jessie Bates wasn’t surprised and thinks Penix can bring a lot of positives to the team right away.

“But, you know, it wasn’t very surprising to me,” Bates said, via the team’s YouTube. “I knew what type of player he is. Being from Indiana, I kind of had an idea of who he was and I think he had a couple of almost-upsets against Ohio State. And I just watch football and I can tell that he has a knack and the NFL likes to come out with these cool quotes and stuff like that — I think he’ll bring a lot to this locker room.”

“Like we said, he may not be playing for the first couple of years, but just having that competitive nature in the locker room — whether it’s Kirk Cousins, whether it’s a practice squad player, whether it’s me, whether it’s a practice squad guy, whatever it is, we’re going to compete and make each other better.”

Falcons

The Falcons selected 2024 first-round QB Michae Penix Jr. in the draft, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes they had a legitimate interest in 2024 fourth-round QB Spencer Rattler. Had Atlanta not gone with Penix in round one, Schefter feels Rattler could have gone earlier in the draft.

“You know what I think it was with Spencer Rattler more than anything else? The two teams that liked him most in my mind, based on the people I spoke to, were the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons,” Schefter said, via Wes Mitchell of on3.com.

“I think they had a mid-second to early third-round grade on him. Spencer Rattler’s big problem there was that the Broncos went with Bo Nix at 12, and the Falcons went with Michael Penix at 8, and his two best options closed up immediately, which left him sitting on the board longer than a lot of people [expected].”

Panthers

Mike Sando of The Athletic cites an anonymous NFL executive who thinks the Panthers made some solid moves in the 2024 NFL Draft despite not initially having a first-round pick, including selecting first-round WR Xavier Legette, second-round RB Jonathon Brooks, third-round LB Trevin Wallace, and fourth-round TE Ja’Tavion Sanders. 

“They did what they could do without having a first-round pick,” an exec said. “The first two players are really good. The linebacker has a lot of upside. The tight end (Sanders), if he came back in school, would probably be the first tight end taken next year.”

Another executive thinks the thought process behind getting Legette at No. 32 was sound, but is unsure of their acquisition of Brooks in the second round. 

“The thought behind what they did was good, but I think they were shopping hungry for an explosive-play threat,” an executive said. “I get it. … You get a guy who can maybe be Deebo Samuel-esque in the way you use him. Trading up to take an injured running back with one year of production, I’m not sure about that.”