When the Atlanta Falcons had made the shocking decision to draft Michael Penix Jr. in 2024, it sent so much confusion out to the NFL world. Just a month earlier, the Falcons had signed Kirk Cousins to a 4-year, $180 million deal even with him coming off a torn achilles in 2023. The Falcons were missing a quarterback and signing Cousins to this type of deal seemed like they were planning to go all in.
Little did we know that the organization would decide to throw a wrench into this plan by bringing in Cousins’ eventual replacement. Well, it happened but it hasn’t worked out up to this point. With the arrival of Kevin Stefanski, the hope is that Penix, who is coming off a partially torn ACL injury from back in November, can thrive.
Imagine if there was a world where the Falcons didn’t draft Penix at No. 8 overall. Maybe things with Cousins could have worked out for the better. Well, Alex Ballentine from Bleacher Report put together a 2024 NFL re-draft ahead of today’s conference championship games and the good news is that Ballentine doesn’t have the Falcons going with a QB.
However, Ballentine does have the Falcons creating another potential issue on the offense. In this re-draft, the Falcons selected TE Brock Bowers, who was selected by the Raiders No. 13 overall in 2024.
2025 NFL re-draft has Falcons drafting Brock Bowers (despite having Kyle Pitts)
"The bottom line is that kind of injury history is going to complicate things for Penix moving forward. And that's not even taking into account that he hasn't set the league on fire in his first 12 starts.Alex Ballentine, Bleacher Report
So it would make sense for the Falcons to pivot for this spot and keep an elite talent in-state. Brock Bowers posted a historic rookie season as a tight end with 112 receptions and 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. He saw a dip in production this season, but the Raiders were a train wreck."
In 2023, Pitts was coming off a 667 yard season and his production was still wildly inconsistent. It was his third season and the Falcons had to make a decision on Pitts' future. If the Falcons had decided to take Bowers at this spot and put him in this offense with the hope that Cousins could be a solid addition, it may have changed the outlook on this offense and how it was operated.
Instead, Bowers is out west with the Raiders and while he has been a star there, the Raiders are among the worst teams in the league. The Falcons decided to draft Penix Jr. and it will forever create many scenarios of “What if?”.