The Atlanta Falcons were at the center of the biggest shock of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Fresh off signing QB Kirk Cousins to a big contract this offseason, the Falcons stunned the NFL world by selecting another QB, Michael Penix Jr, with the eighth overall pick.
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Nobody expected Penix Jr, who spent four seasons at Indiana before a two-year run with Washington, to be selected in the top ten.
Nobody expected him to be the fourth quarterback drafted in a class loaded with big arm talent including Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy.
Falcons GM Terry Fontenot had a lot of explaining to do on draft night, but if the latest theory is correct, there was some method to his madness.
Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer appeared on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday to give some context into the Penix pick for Atlanta.
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Breer suggested that during Fontenot's days with the New Orleans Saints he was stung by missing out on Patrick Mahomes and didn't want to make the same mistake twice.
The Saints were interested in getting Mahomes in the 2017 Draft but word got out about their interest and the Kansas City Chiefs were able to jump in and take him with the No. 10 overall pick.
New Orleans ultimately missed out on a generational talent and Fontenot was wary about the same thing happening again.
As a result, he kept word about the Falcons' interest in Penix Jr in-house so nobody could steal him from under their nose.
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He kept the plans so under wraps that even Cousins was caught off guard by the selection.
Fontenot and the Falcons were evidently extremely high on Penix Jr. and wanted to get him at all costs - even if that meant drafting him when Cousins was already on the roster.
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History had taught the general manager that if a gifted prospect is on your radar you should do everything in your power to get him and figure it out later.
"If you believe in a quarterback, you have to take him," Fontenot said.
"And if he sits for four or five years, that's a great problem to have because we're doing so well at that position. So, it's as simple as, if you see a guy you believe in at that position, you have to take him."
Penix, 23, is pretty old by rookie standards and suffered major injuries in college, while spending six years on the playing field.
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Cousins is 35 and coming off an Achilles injury but his massive $180 million contract means he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
The Falcons now have an Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love situation on their hands and will have to choose who to start for Week 1.
The optics suggest it's a messy situation but perhaps it will turn out to be a stroke of genius when the ageing vet passes the torch to the talented youngster waiting in the wings.