Falcons owner Arthur Blank defends Michael Penix Jr. pick: We’re ‘independent thinkers’

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After more than five decades in business, 81-year-old Arthur Blank has a lot of thoughts about succession plans, especially the ones his Atlanta Falcons recently botched.

That was after the team traded its all-time leading passer, Matt Ryan, after the 2021 season without naming a successor and then struggled through straight 7-10 seasons with Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder as starting quarterbacks.

“We saw that film where we didn’t have a franchise quarterback, and we didn’t want to do that again,” Blank said Tuesday after a visit to Atlanta’s training camp. “I certainly didn’t.”

If the price for avoiding that mistake was another brief misunderstanding with Kirk Cousins, his new starting quarterback, Blank seems fine with that.

“We made it clear to Kirk that we were probably going to draft a quarterback in this draft, and it turned out that Michael Penix, who was extremely highly regarded by our coaching staff and personnel department and who they viewed as a tremendous player, (was in there),” Blank said in his first public comments since draft night.

“I think (Cousins) was as surprised as a lot of people and frankly we were (that Penix was available at No. 8). Our plan was not to take a quarterback at No. 8, but the numbers that our coaching staff had on Penix and the fact that he was available at No. 8 showed that that’s what happened.”

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The Falcons had planned to take a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft and try to develop that player as their quarterback of the future, a team spokesman said after Blank’s interview. Cousins was made aware of that plan during his contract talks with Falcons coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot, Blank said.

The 13-year veteran passer signed a four-year contract that could be worth up to $180 million, choosing Atlanta over a stay in Minnesota, where he spent the previous six seasons. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell had told Cousins that Minnesota likely wouldn’t draft a quarterback if he re-signed there, Cousins said. The Athletics NFL podcast “Scoop City” this week.

A league source described Cousins as “flabbergasted” when the Falcons made Penix their first-round pick, but Blank said he believes Cousins now understands the team’s thought process and intentions.

“Kirk Cousins is our franchise quarterback. He’s our starting quarterback and he seems to be doing great medically,” Blank said. “His demeanor and leadership are just outstanding, so we couldn’t be more excited about that situation.”

Blank hopes Cousins, 35, “has three or four more great years ahead of him, maybe more.”

“But I know the age creeps up a little bit. I can speak to that personally,” he said. “We also know there comes a point where we need a transition, and we want to make that a smooth transition. I’m very sensitive on behalf of our fans to not having a period after Kirk Cousins where there’s a gap between having that type of franchise quarterback and being in the spin cycle and not being able to get out of it.”

Atlanta’s selection of Penix was the surprise of the league’s April draft.

“Luckily, we don’t always listen to the competition,” Blank said. “And luckily, we don’t always listen to the media. And luckily, we don’t always do what everyone thinks we should do. We’re actually very independent thinkers.”

The Falcons missed an opportunity to acquire a key edge rusher, a position the team needs, by selecting Penix, but Blank believes his team’s fans will ultimately understand the choice.

After six seasons in Minnesota, Kirk Cousins found himself at a crossroads.

Would he return to the Vikings? Or leave as a free agent?

Atlanta came to visit and he couldn’t resist.

More about Scoop City with @DMRussini And @ChaseDaniel.

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— The Athletics (@TheAthletic) July 30, 2024

“Right now, (our fans) may want another player, but at some point they want to know that we can have a smooth transition at that very important position,” he said. “When (Green Bay) drafted Jordan Love, it was a lot of the same discussion. They made the decision back then to think about their future without knowing what was going to happen with Aaron (Rodgers), who was getting a little bit older as well. Today, you can’t find (a person) in Green Bay who isn’t clicking their heels and jumping for joy that they got Jordan Love.”

Blank described himself as “very intimately” involved in all of the team’s draft decisions, from the pre-draft meeting to draft night. But he stressed that the coaching staff and personnel department have the final say on the choices, including the selection of Penix.

“They make me fully aware,” Blank said. “They don’t have to discuss (picks) with me. They just have to make me aware of what’s going on. I don’t like surprises. They know that, but it’s not up to me to make those decisions. It’s up to them and me to understand the logic behind it.”

While Blank called himself “incredibly proud of the victories we’ve had” during his 22 seasons as owner, he acknowledged that the last six seasons weren’t good enough. The Falcons haven’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season.

“I have every reason to think we’re going to be very competitive this year, but you’ve got to play the schedule, you’ve got to play the teams, you’ve got to make it happen,” he said. “I’m definitely optimistic, certainly more optimistic than I’ve been in years and have reason to feel that way.”