SEC QB1
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Six quarterbacks were taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, tying the 1983 class, which included Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.
Despite the college landscape’s losses, SEC Football will have no shortage of talent at QB1 in the 2024 campaign.
From veteran transfers to young standouts, countless QBs are hungry for their shot at glory in the upcoming season. Here are my top 5 SEC quarterbacks heading into 2024-25.
- Garrett Nussmeier (LSU): Nussmeier’s only start last season came in LSU’s victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
In the win, Nussmeier exploded with talent: 31 completions, 395 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. I feel confident Nussmeier can replicate this success next season in an expanded role.
LSU is going to score a lot of points, and, it’s [Nussmeier’s] team now. He knows that. Brian Kelly knows that. Everyone in that locker room knows that. And, I think we got a preview of it during the bowl game.
- Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee):Nico Iamaleava finished last season with 28 completions for 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.
During Tennessee’s 35-0 win over Iowa (Cheez-It Citrus Bowl), Iamaleava completed 12-of-his-19 pass attempts for 151 yards and a touchdown. He also had three scores on the ground. I believe Iamaleava might realize his full potential this season.
- Jalen Milroe (Alabama):Jalen Milroe finished this past season with 2,718 yards passing, 23 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions.
He was also a significant threat on the ground, collecting 468 rushing yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns on the ground.
While Nick Saban is no longer leading the Crimson Tide, My prediction is Milroe will continue to roll over his opponents.
Milroe and Kalen DeBoer, to me, are a lot like the french fry and milkshake combo. It sounds like two things that are very different wouldn’t go well together. I think that’s Kalen DeBoer and Jalen Milroe. You don’t think they’re supposed to go together and then you try it and you’re like, Oh, wow, this is phenomenal.
- Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss):Jaxson Dart led one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation last season.
In 2023, the 6-foot-2 QB recorded 233 completions for 3,364 passing yards and 23 touchdowns while only tossing 5 picks. I am forecasting these numbers will grow in the upcoming season.
1B. Quinn Ewers (Texas):Quinn Ewers threw for 3,161 yards and 21 touchdowns across 11 games as a redshirt sophomore last season, leading Texas to its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history.
Expect even more jaw-dropping statistics from Ewers this year.
Ewers, I think has the ability to have the best statistical performance out of anybody on this list this season. He has figured out what works in college football. The light bulb is on. It’s not blinking. It’s beaming.
1A. Carson Beck (Georgia):Carson Beck finished this past season ranked third nationally and first in the SEC in passing yards (3,941), as well as fourth in the nation in completion percentage (.724).
For his efforts, he was named a Coaches All-SEC Second Team selection. Obviously, I anticipate more accomplishments for Georgia’s QB1.
I have the highest level of confidence that [Beck] is going to execute his job at the highest level every single Saturday..
A Near Strike Out
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a series opening game in May at Founders Park in Columbia, Georgia Baseball opened a three-game series against the then Number 13 South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Dawgs chased the Gamecock’s starter Roman Kimball after scoring four in the top of the 1st inning, then the second inning saw Charlie Condon launch a Ty Good first pitch past the left field wall to go back-to-back with teammate Corey Collins. That blast was his 34th of the season to maintain the national homerun lead.
Condon not only led the nation in homers, but also led the country with an average over .450 and had driven in 72 runs at that point for the Diamond Dawgs. He’s having a historic year for Georgia, but it’s almost a career that never came to fruition.
Near the end of his career at The Walker School in Marietta (North Metro Atlanta area), Condon had no Division I offers to play baseball.
The two offers on the table were from D III Rhodes College in Memphis and University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn to play both baseball and also play quarterback for the football programs.
Condon did have a potential preferred walk-on opportunity for the Tennessee Volunteers, but a late pull from Vols Head Coach Tony Vitello took that opportunity off the table.
Scott Stricklin, former Georgia Head Coach from 2014 thru 2023, got a phone call from a friend telling him about Charlie, and was told that Condon may be a potential target.
Stricklin and staff got some video of Condon’s skills and thought he would be able to be a factor for the Dawgs down the road.
So how did everyone miss on someone that potentially could be the number one overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft?
Well, it may be a full storm of factors. First off, Condon was a late bloomer. While the last few years in high school were impressive, he wasn’t on the top travel ball team, he wasn’t the measurable masterpiece.
All of that along with COVID-19 was affecting the sports world still while his recruiting process. High school schedules were affected, College coaches weren’t out on the road and able as many players as they normally would, so late bloomers, and players that were under the radar didn’t get a look.
If there needed to be another factor, the MLB Draft was shortened from 40 rounds to 20, so there weren’t many scholarships to go around.
Condon turned into the perfect fit for the Bulldogs before even taking an at-bat. Condon was exceptional student and was able to be accepted to the University of Georgia and didn’t need a scholarship to come to school.
As a pure walk-on, Condon didn’t see action as a freshman. Scott Stricklin told Condon that the plan was for him to redshirt and really hit the weight room in 2022 to grow into the player that Stricklin thought Condon could be.
While that is the plan, Stricklin saw that Condon was special and had told other college coaches that possibly the best hitter on his roster was a redshirt.
Condon took the redshirt in stride and gained 15-20 pounds of muscle, and seeing college pitching made it click at the plate.
If Condon wasn’t special enough, or as one scout called him “a unicorn,” he had to deal with another bit of adversity after 2023 when Stricklin (the coach that took a chance on him) was let go from UGA.
In the new age of college sports of NIL and transfer portal, Condon proved he’s a “unicorn” off the field too with an incredibly infrequent take on the portal opportunity.
“It was never a real possibility that I wanted to get in the portal and go anywhere else,” Condon told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
“Whether it was this coaching staff or not, the university was the only place that gave me a chance out of high school. It was the university that had given me all the time and resources and put so much into my development. I couldn’t turn my back on that.”
No matter if you’re a fan of the Dawgs, or just of college baseball, you can’t help but root for Charlie Condon, and marvel at the historic season.
As great as his on-the-field presence is, the off-the field factor helps Condon’s draft stock just as much.
With The First Pick The Atlanta Hawks Select….
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Hawks shocked the basketball world by winning the NBA Draft Lottery.
This is the Hawks’ first time getting the No. 1 pick since 1975, when they ended up drafting David Thompson, a five-time All-Star and NBA Hall of Famer. The Draft Lottery was not established yet, so it is the first time they won it.
The Detroit Pistons, who had the league-worst 14-68 record, could not believe it as they had the best odds at 14% to get the No. 1 pick.
The Washington Wizards were 15-67 and they also had great odds to land the number one pick. They have the No. 2 pick.
In 2023-24, they finished the season 36-46, which resulted in the tenth-highest lottery odds. They owned a 3% chance at the No. 1 overall pick and a 13.9% chance at a selection in the top four.
This is very shocking for this franchise. They are never championship contenders but not bad enough to pick high enough to select a superstar. This has finally changed.
The only problem is this year’s draft does not have a consensus top prospect like Victor Wembanyama was last year.
Some of the top prospects for the Hawks to consider are center Alexandre Sarr (France), point guard/shooting guard Stephon Castle (UConn), point guard Nikola Topic (Serbia) and small forward/power forward Ron Holland (G League Ignite).
Holland was a McDonald’s All-American in 2023. He averaged 19.5 points per game in the G League as an 18 year old. He is very skilled and has good athleticism. Holland is 6’8, 206 pounds so he needs to put on more weight. He only shoots 24% from the arc, so that’s frightening.
Sarr is 7’1 and 216 pounds. He has a smaller frame but he is more of an old school center. The 19 year old played in Australia’s NBL last season. He played 27 games and averaged 9.4 ppg, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
He is raw offensively and needs to develop his skillset. He is a solid defensive player but I don’t think that is enough for a number one draft pick.
Castle is a Georgia native and graduated from Newton High School in Covington, GA.
Obviously, he won a national championship with the Huskies last season. He averaged 11.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 2.9 apg. He’s 6’6 so he’s a bigger guard. He did not really get to display his skillset because he played in a true team system.
Topic won a gold medal with Serbia at the U18 European Championships. He played on two different teams in the AdmiralBet League (ABA) in 2023-24. He averaged 18.4 ppg in twelve games for Mega MIS. He has a well-rounded game on offense and he can score. He’s 6’6 and he turns 19 in August.
If Atlanta decides to draft another point guard they might have to trade their current star, Trae Young.
The 2024 NBA Draft will be the first ever two-day event, beginning at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, June 26 and concluding with the second round on Thursday, June 27.
It will be at the Barclays Center, which is the home of the Brooklyn Nets.
It’s All About The Money
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I believe the official date for Clemson and FSU to inform the ACC of their intended departures for the 2025 season would be Aug. 15.
So, that would mean we would either have some form of resolution in court by then, which is not likely considering how it affects conferences across college football. The only other option, which is more likely, would be to settle out of court.
If it’s the latter, and FSU and Clemson part ways, ESPN will smartly decide in February not to pick up its ACC TV package through 2036.
That would send the ACC into Pac-12 territory, forcing it to sign a cheaper TV deal beyond 2027 (without its two megastars) or a straight-up league breakup in which some could end up fleeing to the Big 12 or even forming a new league.
My guess is there will be a group of ACC schools not getting into the SEC, Big Ten, or Big 12. The remaining teams will want to stick together in some form and take a cheaper TV deal to remain “mid-majors.”
We can sit here and debate which schools those are, or you can simply look at TV ratings and TV markets for the past few years and put two and two together.
Either way, not everyone is getting an invite to the Big 2 or a Super League. If FSU or Clemson has to spend a few years in purgatory (the Big 12) to get to the SEC or Big Ten, they’ll do it to get out of having to stick around in the ACC through 2036.
I just don’t think we’re going to see a 24-team Big Ten or a 24-team SEC down the road. Remember, the SEC’s TV deal runs with ESPN through 2033-34 and the Big Ten’s deal runs with CBS, NBC and Fox through 2029-30.
There’s no incentive for the schools in those leagues to add any more schools when they’ve got such a huge financial advantage in college football, unless they’re competing to sign top “free agent” schools such as FSU and Clemson or another school they value like North Carolina.
That essentially leaves the other ACC programs behind to come up with a solution to remain relevant and fund their athletic programs. The ACC will not completely fold.
Wait, I love this idea. I don’t know how likely it is, but I’m not sure anything in college football could surprise me anymore. Oregon State and Washington State need somewhere to land anyway, and if Clemson and Florida State bounce, the ACC should just lean into being totally unhinged. Give me Pac-12 after-dark vibes, every hour of every day.
Southern Expectations
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let’s take a look around the NFC South and see what we can expect from these teams after free agency and the NFL Draft.
Atlanta Falcons: On paper we expect them to be the favorite to win the division going into the season.
They did sign Kirk Cousins in the offseason. Quarterback play was the team’s Achilles heel last season. They were 7-10 and finding a solid QB should improve their record by at least two games.
The offense has weapons so we expected them to draft a pass rusher. Instead, they drafted Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the # 8 pick. At best he becomes a starter in two years. Unfortunately, he will not be on the field immediately to help a team that is built to win now.
They did use their next four draft picks on defensive players but they still did not address their glaring need to improve the pass rush. I think Atlanta can win nine or 10 games. If they make it to the playoffs I expect them to lose in the first round.
Carolina Panthers: This team seems to be in permanent rebuild mode.
They had first year head coach Frank Reich last season and he was fired in November after starting 1-10. They finished the season with the worst record in the NFL, 2-15. They traded their 2024 first round pick in the 2023 draft to move up and select QB Bryce Young # 1.
The team was terrible so I can’t put all of the blame on Young. The # 2 pick from 2023, CJ Stroud had a great season. They will always be compared to each other so we do need to see Young get better in his second season.
In free agency they signed: Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, A’Shawn Robinson, Josey Jewell and Dane Jackson. Hunt and Lewis are guards that will improve the interior offensive line. Robinson is a defensive tackle that has appeared in 110 games, with 74 starts.
In the first round of the draft Carolina selected wide receiver Xavier Legette (South Carolina) # 32. They really need weapons for Young so this was a good pick.
In the second round they selected running back Jonathan Brooks (Texas). He’s a great player but he tore his ACL in November so he will not be available at the beginning of the season.
I think the Panthers have improved slightly and will win five or six games.
New Orleans Saints: In free agency they signed: defensive end Chase Young, wide receiver Stanley Morgan, linebacker Willie Gay, wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, and quarterback Nathan Peterman.
In the first round they selected offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State) # 14. Their second round pick was cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama).
New Orleans was 9-8 last season. I expect them to win eight or nine games in 2024.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: They were 9-8 and won the division in 2023. They beat Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs. They exceeded expectations last year.
In free agency they signed safety Jordan Whitehead, cornerback Bryce Hall, guard Ben Bredeson and guard Sua Opeta.
They drafted center Graham Barton (Duke) # 26. In the second round they selected edge rusher Chris Braswell (Alabama).
I expect them to compete for the division title and win nine or ten games.
Smart Move
By: Jeb Watkins
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is now the highest paid coach in college football.
Coach Smart’s new deal keeps him in Athens for the next 10 years and he is set to collect 130 million dollars along the way.
He becomes the first college coach ever to make 13 million per year. It’s safe to say Kirby has secured the bag.
So, what does this contract mean for the UGA faithful? Well.. it means no worries for the rest of your days.. ha.
But no, seriously, this deal means another decade of bragging rights, stability, and dominance.
It also means more of Kirby’s fiery half time speeches that will have you ready to run through a brick wall and who doesn’t want to see more of his signature sideline celebrations, am I right?
He is a proven leader and a master motivator. Dawg fans should be ecstatic about locking down the greatest coach in UGA history and the greatest active coach in college football right now.
There’s no doubt Kirby is at the top of his game and is showing no signs of slowing down. When Smart became the new head coach back in 2016, feelings were mixed about moving on from former head coach Mark Richt. Georgia was handing the reins to someone with no head coaching experience.
And to be fair, Smart did have some growing pains early on and got outcoached more than few times his first couple of seasons.
Eventually those mixed feelings would go away after trusting the process paid off. Fans watched as Smart turned the UGA football program into a perennial powerhouse, silencing all the doubters and exceeding all expectations.
Dawg fans let us count our blessings. To start, 6 sec east division crowns and undefeated in regular season conference play for the past three seasons. Talk about bragging rights against your rivals.
Smart has dominated the SEC east and even with the new Pod system in place I don’t see that changing.. Top 5 recruiting classes and numerous NFL draft picks every year. Two SEC championships and most importantly back-to-back National Titles, which ended the 40-year natty drought.
That’s all just within his first 10 years, given another decade smart could very well build a dynasty of his own to rival former boss Nick Saban.
Considering that Saban is the only coach to beat Smart in the past 3 seasons, who’s going to stop Kirby and the Dawgs now?
So, looking ahead what does this contract extension mean for the football program going forward? Simply put. More of the same. More 5-stars, more SEC blowout wins, more playoff games, and more National Titles.
Also, the new 12 team playoff format rolls out in the 2024 season with the Bulldogs returning 16 starters on top of all the talent buried in the depth chart.
I think Kirby and his Dawgs should be the favorites to win it all. But favorites or not, you can bet Coach Smart will have his dawgs prepared and hungry for a championship when the time comes.
Missed Mark?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I was underwhelmed by the Jaguars’ draft in Rounds 2-7, but I love what they did in Round 1 by trading back and adding a high-ceiling receiver.
After the Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley, they reexamined their options and were able to land Thomas, who has size and speed. His route running needs work, but that is due mostly to inexperience, not lack of ability .
Thomas may fit Jax’s offense better than Ridley did. As a rookie Thomas might not be as productive as Ridley, (2023 season:76 receptions, 1,016 yards), but Thomas gives the Jaguars a true big-body X receiver who can stretch the field. Ridley was miscast last season for a Jags team that needed a player like Thomas.
He struggled to get off press coverage on the outside and win consistently on fade routes — two skills that Thomas mastered at LSU.
The Jags needed a lot of defensive line help, but it was surprising that they took LSU’s Mason Smith with the No. 48 pick. The 6-5, 305-pound Smith is a former five-star recruit, but he was sidelined by injury for a big chunk of his career in Baton Rouge.
Making matters tougher, he had six defensive line coaches in his three years and four in the past year. Smith has intriguing potential, evoking some visions of Leonard Williams, right now Smith’s future looks cloudy with high risk.
It’s worth noting new Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen is a protege of former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, who recruited Smith to Baton Rouge.
Former Tigers defensive coordinator Matt House is also now on the Jacksonville staff too. One of the concerns about Smith is he plays with high pad level; he needs to get low and become more physical.
“He is a boom-or-bust,” an NFL D-line coach told me earlier this month. “In his defense, there is still a lot of football in him. He’s played 976 snaps in three years. 17 starts. He’s got everything you want.”
Javon Foster was a worthwhile swing to take, even if an offensive tackle isn’t a glaring need for Jacksonville. Foster needs to continue honing his footwork and technique, but he moves well with the length and play strength to match up in the NFL. He looks to be a valuable swing tackle and, down the line, maybe more.
Draft Picks:
Brian Thomas Jr. WR. LSU
Mason Smith. DT. LSU
Jarrion Jones, CB. FSU
Javon Foster, OT, Missouri
Jordan Jefferson, DT. LSU
Deantre Prince, CB, Ole Miss
Keilan Robinson, RB, Texas
Cam Little K, Arkansas
Myles Cole, Edge, Texas Tech
The Jags will round out their rosters with undrafted free agents. The puzzles largely have been put together. The experimentation will begin when minicamps and offseason practices begin. And some questions will remain unanswered until training camp, the preseason, and opening weekend kickoff.
But for now, my evaluation is the Jags fell short in their quest to position themselves as championship contenders.
Grounded Draft?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2024 NFL Draft is over now. Let’s take a look at the Atlanta Falcons.
Draft Picks:
Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (#8)
Clemson DT Ruke Orhorhoro (#35)
Washington OLB Bralen Trice (#74)
Oregon DE Brandon Dorlus (#109)
Notre Dame LB JD Bertrand (#143)
Alabama RB Jase McClellan (#186)
Illinois WR Casey Washington (#187)
Georgia DL Zion Logue (#197)
You may have heard by now that Atlanta drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick.
He was outstanding last season at Washington. He led the Huskies to an undefeated season and a National Championship game appearance. He was the NCAA passing yards leader with 4,903 yards, 36 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and he completed 65.4% of his passes.
He won the Maxwell Award (2023), First-team All-American (2023) and AP Comeback Player of the Year (2022).
The biggest problem is that the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed. It does not make any sense to draft another quarterback that high with the amount of money they invested in Cousins.
They appear to want to win now so they should have drafted a complementary piece that can help the team now. The biggest need was a pass rusher and Dallas Turner (Alabama) was available.
Penix has an injury history that some teams were nervous about. He tore his ACL in back-to-back seasons when he was at Indiana. I think he’s a great player but he will sit behind Cousins for at least two seasons.
“I love winning, and I’m a team guy,” Penix said during his introductory press conference. “That’s what I’m going to be in the locker room.”
“Kirk is an amazing guy. I actually watched the ‘Quarterback’ series with him. Seeing that he’s a man of faith, just like me, and he’s all about family – I really enjoyed that, to get a feel of what kind of guy he is. I’m super blessed to be in the room with him and to be able to work with him and learn from him and support him as he continues on his career.”
Orhorhoro was a reach in the second round. In his last two years at Clemson he had 16 tackles for loss and 9 sacks.
He’s an interior defensive lineman so he doesn’t add much to the pass rush. He was Third-team All-ACC last season. They should have picked a corner back or defensive end here.
Trice might help in the second level. In 2023 he had 49 total tackles, 11.5 TFL and 7 sacks.
Dorlus played at Oregon all 5 years. He started as a defensive tackle and finally made the switch to defensive end last season. He only had 6.5 TFL and 5 sacks in 2023.
Bertrand is interesting because he had a breakout season in 2021 and statically got worse after that. In 2021 he had 102 total tackles. He had 82 tackles in 2022 and 76 in 2023. He played in every game each season so I’m not sure what the issue is.
McClellan and Washington add depth at the skill positions.
Logue will help stop the run but he’s not a pass rusher. He has 1.5 sacks in his college career, which is five seasons.
Atlanta also needed a corner back and they did not draft one. They will need to address that in the undrafted free agent pool. They still have the same question marks on defense after the draft.
Draft grade: C-
Atlanta Hockey…Take 3?
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
October is a great time for sports fans in the state of Georgia.
On any given night, you could have the first pitch for another Atlanta Braves Postseason run, or tipoff for an early season Atlanta Hawks game. Maybe you’re heading to the Benz for an Atlanta United match.
When the weekends roll around, you might be “Between the Hedges,” filing into Bobby Dodd Stadium, or tailgating at Allen E. Paulson getting ready for boot meet ball for your college football Saturday.
Then get to Sunday afternoon to see Kirk Cousins (or maybe Michael Penix Jr….. That’s a whole other story) taking snaps for the Falcons. So, what is Georgia Sports missing? A Puck drop?
Back in March, Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment officially announced they requested the NHL Commissioner and Board of Governors to commence a new expansion process to bring an NHL franchise back to Atlanta.
Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment is fronted by former NHL player and current Turner Sports analyst Anson Carter.
Carter has been extremely outspoken about the NHL making the return to Atlanta for what would be the third time in a number of years and has had multiple conversations with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about the possibility of expansion.
The potential ownership group has planned construction of 18,000-seat arena around North Point Mall in Alpharetta and plans expand the surrounding area into a commercial mini-metropolis much like the Battery Atlanta is around Truist Park.
The location has been one of the main selling points to the NHL as to why the two previous franchises didn’t succeed in the metro-Atlanta area.
Carter and the other potential owners believe that headquartering the franchise in Alpharetta helps solve the issues that stood most recently at Philips Arena (now State Farm Arena). This is the same idea that the Braves are now thriving with in Cobb County and developing the Battery and surrounding area.
Atlanta hockey has seen two previous renditions with the Atlanta Flames from 1972-1980 before being re-located to Calgary.
Take two saw the Atlanta Thrashers call (then) Philips Arena home from 1999-2011 before being moved to Winnipeg to become the Winnipeg Jets.
The NHL has only added four expansion teams since the Atlanta Thrashers were created in 1999. The next season in 2000, the NHL expanded to thirty teams with the addition of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild.
It would be 16 years before the next new NHL franchise. The league would add one more team to get to thirty-one total teams with the 2016 expansion franchise of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Knights proved to be a success with the Stanley Cup Championship coming in their first year of existence (2017-18 season).
Most recently the NHL became a 32-team outfit with the addition of the Seattle Kraken beginning in the 2021-22 season.
Although the NHL has said that currently they have no plans for expansion, there are many that are optimistic that the Atlanta area would be on the top of the list to get an expansion franchise.
The construction of the new arena around North Point is expected to be ready for potential play for the 2027-28 season, and now it’s just a waiting game.
Personally, I would love to dust off the old Atlanta Thrashers sweater, and head back to “Blueland”!
With The 8th Pick The Atlanta Falcons Select…
By: Jeb Watkins
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
And with the 8th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft the Atlanta Falcons select.. Michael Penix Jr?
What in the world are the Atlanta falcons thinking?
In all honesty I had forgotten what time the draft was taking place Thursday night, with the falcons being my NFL team, I knew they would play it smart and either take Dallas Turner or trade down to stockpile more picks.
That’s what all the experts, analysts and mock drafts had told me to expect too.
I don’t believe I even saw a click bait post about the falcons taking a quarterback.
Which means even in the wildest dreams of the internet nobodies, no one thought the falcons could fumble the number 8 pick this badly.
They just signed Kirk Cousins to a 4-year deal and are paying him somewhere north of 40 million a year, so barring injury he’s the starter for at least the next two years.
I assume with such a high pick Penix was drafted to be Cousin’s successor and Captain Kirk is going to be 36 years old come August.
He also just had surgery to repair his achilles back in November but even so Penix Jr has been prone to injury since his freshman year of college and will be 28 in 4 years, which isn’t exactly young by NFL standards.
By then the Falcons will likely have to decide whether or not to pick up his 5th year option or let him go.
I wonder how much playing time Penix will get in those 4 years?
I feel a bit of sympathy for Penix. He’s a tough competitor and a hard worker. Let’s not forget he battled back from 2 ACL tears in his right knee in 2018 and 2019. Then 2 more injuries in 2020 and 21 to his non-throwing shoulder.
After all that he still led an underdog Washington Huskies team to a CFP playoff win and national title berth coming up short against a tough Michigan Wolverines team.
He deserves to be a high draft pick, but not by a team who just signed a veteran QB for the next four years and wants him to sit out during his most of his prime years in the league.
I feel like Penix doesn’t have much of a ceiling and that he likely won’t have time to improve much with the falcons before he starts to decline.
I think he needs to be on a team that wants him to start sooner rather than later so he can hopefully develop his game to have some success before father time kicks in and trust me after four injuries in four years it won’t be long.
Anyway, whether the falcons are blowing 28-3 Super Bowl leads, trying to trade for Deshawn Watson just to lose Matt Ryan, hiring an unproven Arthur smith, or drafting Desmond Ridder to be the starting QB, it is safe to say this pick shouldn’t have surprised fans.
It would make way too much sense for the falcons to get an edge rusher who can bolster their team sack numbers and lead their defense, which they desperately need. We are talking about a defense that ranked 21st in sacks and 27th in interceptions last year.
Quarterbacks have all day to throw against the falcons and the sad thing is Atlanta has the secondary personnel to produce more interceptions if they just had someone to consistently put pressure on the quarterback.
The only scenario I can envision where this pick ends up smelling like a rose for Atlanta, is if Cousins goes down in his first year or two and Penix Jr comes in and has success.
That’s not too far-fetched considering Kirk’s age and the talent the Falcons have on the offensive side of the ball.
However, this pick is probably a costly insurance policy and leads to a GM being on a hot seat.
