NFC Notes: Xavier Legette, Michael Penix Jr., Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Falcons

The Falcons shocked everyone on Thursday by taking QB Michael Penix Jr. at pick No. 8 overall despite committing $180 million to QB Kirk Cousins in free agency. After reports came out that Cousins was surprised by the pick, Penix mentioned they touched base and had a discussion.

“I’m going to keep it just between me and him right now,” Penix said, via ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “But it was definitely a good conversation, and I’m super excited to work with him, and he said he’s the same with me.”

Panthers

New Panthers WR Xavier Legette made it clear before the draft that Carolina had expressed a great interest in him before trading up to select him at pick No. 32. Leggette discussed his excitement and eagerness that the Panthers are the right fit for him.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Legette said, via Anthony Rizzuti of the Panthers Wire. “I was just waiting to hear my name called. And then once they called me and tell me that they was trading up for me, there was a whole lot of joy inside me.”

“Just because of the meetings we had, man. I could feel the love and the vibe coming from them. I knew if it wasn’t them, I knew I wasn’t gonna be sure. I had a good feeling about them.”

• According to Aaron Wilson, UDFA LB Taylor Upshaw will not be signing with the Panthers despite previously agreeing to a deal. 

Saints

After the shocking selection of QB Michael Penix Jr. at pick No. 8 overall in the draft, rumors surfaced that the Saints were interested in moving up to take Penix instead. New Orleans HC Dennis Allen shot those rumors down and implored that they never had those conversations.

“It was never discussed that we would move up for a quarterback,” Allen said, via the team’s social media. “I think any time there’s a quarterback that you think has a chance to be your future quarterback, it’s always something that you’re going to consider. I had heard that report, it was brought to my attention (Thursday) night, but there was zero effort on our part to move up for a quarterback. There’s always discussions about trading up or trading back, but none of those were in an attempt to get a quarterback.”