When quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. was first selected eighth overall, there were questions about his fit into a Zac Robinson offense, especially if it's similar to a McVay/Shanahan-type system.
Penix was a quarterback who worked outside the numbers and down the field on go routes, post routes and fades. He was great at putting the ball up for his bigger receivers at Washington and letting them go and make a play. In a McVay/Shanahan-type system, he would be working more in the middle of the field and using timing and anticipation to attack the defense.
It isn't saying that Penix can't work the middle of the field, he wasn't asked to due to the talent disparity between Washington's receiver corps and the defensive backs who had the unfortunate task of guarding them.
The Rams, where Zac Robinson and most of the staff came from, were experts at building an offense around the players' strengths, including the quarterback. Stafford found his partner in crime in Cooper Kupp during their Super Bowl run in 2021, who gave him a security blanket while he used his exceptional arm talent to make the throws necessary to win.
Penix could find that same security blanket with either Kyle Pitts or Drake London on the outside, as well as sixth-rounder Casey Washington, who has become a "sleeper" in the eyes of some. Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore could be used to complement those ball-winner types of receivers with their speed, especially Mooney and his route-running capabilities.
If Cousins doesn't have a 2024 that inspires confidence that he can win a Super Bowl in 2025, Atlanta has an avenue to get out of Cousins' contract and continue to build around Penix.
If the Falcons decide to build out their receiver room focusing outside the numbers, some receivers could be found in the 2025 offseason, via free agency and the draft. Here are a few names that you could see Atlanta pursue:
- Cincinnati Bengals' Tee Higgins
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Chris Godwin
- San Francisco 49ers' Jauan Jennings
- Tennessee Titans' Nick Westbrook-Ikihne
- Las Vegas Raiders' Michael Gallup
- Colorado State's Tory Horton
- Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan
- Ole Miss' Tre Harris
- Texas A&M's Noah Thomas
