Falcons draft malpractice gets new layer with revelation of declined trade

The Atlanta Falcons shocked the world by selecting QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick in April's NFL Draft. That decision came mere weeks after Kirk Cousins opted to sign a four-year, $180 million contract (with $100 million guaranteed) to leave Minnesota and return to his wife's hometown of Atlanta.

It's not difficult to understand the Falcons' logic on an elemental level. Cousins is 35 years old. His contract is only guaranteed for three years, and he's coming off the first major knee surgery of his life. There's no telling how exactly he looks and how long he's able to provide the Falcons with his standard level of production.

Penix is an insurance plan in the short term and a succession plan in the long term. Ideally, he's ready to take the reigns by the final year of his rookie contract. The Falcons don't have to worry about haphazardly pivoting in free agency or scouting QBs down the line. Penix is cemented in place with a few years of close Kirk Cousins mentorship to sharpen his mind and motivate his soul.

That said, it's just a plan bad use of resources from Atlanta. Penix was not a top-10 prospect. Quarterback is football's most important position, of course, but the Falcons passed on the opportunity to receive three years of immediate support at a position of need. There are great players on the board at No. 8, and instead, the Falcons burned that pick on a development project. A development project who is 24 years old with several major injuries on his ledger, too.

Now, the Falcons' boneheaded decision to select Penix looks even worse. As shown on Roku's The Pick Is In television show, the Chicago Bears called Atlanta to inquire about moving up from No. 9 to No. 8 to select WR Rome Odunze. The Falcons would have received an additional fourth-round pick before selecting Penix at No. 9, while the Bears move up a spot for no actual reason.

That was a golden opportunity — one the Falcons missed out on for no discernible reason.

Falcons dropped the ball on potential NFL Draft trade with Bears

Now, to be fair, the Bears don't actually put forth a concrete offer in the clip. It's more of an exploratory call from GM Ryan Poles, but it sure sounds like Terry Fontenot and the Falcons' front office were flat-out uninterested. What isn't clear is why the Falcons' front office didn't leap at the opportunity and push hard to get a deal across the finish line.

Every NFL Draft trade is a delicate balancing act. The Falcons obviously didn't want Rome Odunze, but the Bears only made that offer because Atlanta was considered a potential threat. A trade would have required Atlanta to maintain the facade — to feign interest in Odunze to make the Bears sweat.

That's easier said than done. On the other hand, Chicago clearly didn't threaten Atlanta's game plan. The Falcons wanted Penix, and the Bears drafted Caleb Williams No. 1 overall. There was no reason to believe moving down a spot would have impacted the Falcons' ultimate plan. It simply would have added another asset to Fontenot's war chest.

This is probably an inconsequential moment in the broader scheme of NFL history — Atlanta and Chicago would have ended up picking the same players either way — but it's a truly stupefying moment from the Falcons' front office. Not only did Atlanta make the mistake of drafting Penix. They had a chance to at least add another asset around Penix but opted not to. For some reason, the Falcons just didn't want to move back.

Atlanta has a talented roster, one that is built to win the NFC South. That said, it's hard to express much faith in the Falcons' front office after this clip. The Bears set one up on the tee and Atlanta whiffed hard. A big yikes.