The ripple effects of the Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. pick are still being felt

Don't hate the player, hate the overall draft strategy. Now that mandatory minicamp is over with and done, the utterly strange NFL Draft the Atlanta Falcons had is starting to sting a little less. Although general manager Terry Fontenot sought to improve the Falcons' defensive front-seven with five of the team's eight picks being in that expanded position group, their draft was defined by Michael Penix Jr.

Who would have thought one of my favorite college football players to cover over the last four years would be suiting up for my hometown team? I had the opportunity to speak with Penix shortly before the College Football Playoff over on False Start. He gave off the vibe of being quiet, but confident. Smart, but subdued. Charismatic, but even-keeled. Unfortunately, draft evaluators saw differently.

Entering the dog days of the NFL offseason, Kevin Patra of Around the NFL outlined the 10 biggest remaining roster holes heading into training camp. He identified the Falcons' lack of a bona fide pass-rusher as being the most glaring in the league. Although they took Penix's Washington teammate Bralen Trice in the third round, the Falcons still let guys like Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree walk.

Outside of Trice, their best returning pass-rushers are Arnold Ebiketie and my Dawg, Lorenzo Carter.

Given that the Falcons are the favorites to win the NFC South, this could come back to haunt them...

Atlanta Falcons still feeling consequences of Michael Penix Jr. draft pick

The way I would describe what is going on is this. If Atlanta either drafted an edge rusher at No. 8 or traded back to get one, in the wake of signing Kirk Cousins in free agency, no one would be having a problem with that. Conversely, if Atlanta used its free agency capital on someone like Danielle Hunter and then took Penix with the No. 8 overall pick, the reviews may be slightly better than mixed.

In the immediate aftermath of trying to make sense of what Fontenot did on draft night, there were thoughts that Atlanta might lose its first-round pick in 2025 for tampering with Cousins. Not only did they tamper with Cousins, but they also tampered with Darnell Mooney and Charlie Woerner. Too bad it only cost the Dirty Birds a fifth-round selection next year. Also, they could have traded back!

There were reports that the Chicago Bears really wanted Rome Odunze, and would have been willing to take him at No. 8. Atlanta could have then moved back to No. 9, taken Penix and gotten some compensation in return. That would have surely softened the blow of Fontenot's bombshell of a draft selection. There were also thoughts that Atlanta may be too good to draft a quarterback next season.

That might be what I can kind of get behind the most. If Atlanta goes something like 10-7 and wins the NFC South, the Falcons will be picking in the 20s. That puts you in maybe QB4 range next spring. Would you rather have Penix now or either Jalen Milroe or Riley Leonard next year? But even still, Atlanta may not have addressed its biggest weakness for well over a decade now this offseason.

I sense the reason why Campbell and Dupree left is that former Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen left. He did a remarkable job last season, but he now works for Doug Pederson in Jacksonville. Enter Jimmy Lake, a man who was hand-picked to replace Chris Petersen, only to become The Mistake on Lake Washington in the wake of Kalen DeBoer getting hired by the Huskies.

That man is coordinating the Falcons' defense, as he is one of the many staffers who followed new head coach Raheem Morris to Flowery Branch from Los Angeles. Much has been made about Zac Robinson being the new offensive coordinator, but I am still skeptical about the Lake hire. Then again, he was the head coach at Washington when Trice first got there. He was a hotshot coordinator, too.

Ultimately, I think one of two things is going to happen. Either Fontenot and the rest of the Falcons' brass are very high on the pass-rushers they already have in the building like Carter, Ebiketie and now Trice, or the Falcons are going to squander a few more winnable games away because they cannot sack the opposing quarterback consistently in crunch time. It may cost them up to three more wins.

Death, taxes and the Atlanta Falcons' pass rush never coming through when the franchise needs it...