The Atlanta Falcons were the story of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft after they selected Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall. It was a stunner for those in the ATL and got quite the reactions out of On3’s Phillip Dukes.
Dukes, a Falcons fan himself, joined during ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Friday to discuss the franchise’s choice of Penix Jr.. He said that he has been reconciling with the selection ever since, regardless of how good the former Husky is and could be, because he just doesn’t fit what Atlanta needed right now.
“Man, I’ve been up all night, man,” said Dukes. “I’ve done watched every Michael Penix highlight I can watch. I think he’s a phenomenal quarterback – just not for the Falcons right now.”
If it were up to him, along with many others in Atlanta, they would have been the team to first take a defensive player off the board on Thursday. He would have gone with someone to add to their pass rush in order to improve that aspect of their defense and get to the next level as a team.
“That’s another thing I hate, bro. I really wanted to see an explosive pass rusher get to pair himself with Grady Jarrett while he still has some gas left in the tank,” Dukes said. “Like, what we’re missing is we have a team that could’ve been pushed over the top if you can get to the quarterback. The problem is the Falcons have been in the bottom third of sacks since John Abraham left. John Abraham ain’t been here in years.”
“I really and truly thought that Laiatu Latu was the best defensive player in the draft. I really thought that, if you took those injuries away from him, he was a top-two or top-three guy,” Dukes said. “The Colts got a steal where they got him at and I think he’s one of those guys, over the next two years, that we’re going to be sad about.”
The other issue is that Atlanta just signed Kirk Cousins to be their next quarterback on a four-year, $180 million deal. That’s why everyone, including Cousins, was as surprised as they were last night and Dukes can’t blame any of them.
“Me too, Kirk!” shouted Dukes. “You know, a lot of people gave him a lot of flack – ‘Oh, he’s coming off an Achilles injury! Why would you do this?’. I was able to kind of reconcile that decision based on the fact that they’re in a win-now. Now, with the draft, you can add those pieces. You can get guys – you can get somebody to rush the passes, you can get another wide receiver, you can get a cornerback in the draft. If you pull three starters out of this draft, then boom! You got a playoff team and maybe you get some Falcons magic.”
“Like, bro, what are we doing? That’s exactly what Kirk Cousins said,” Dukes said. “He’s like, ‘Bro, what are we doing?’ – the same thing Aaron Rodgers said when he needed that other receiver. That’s the same thing I said last night.”
However, for Dukes, this is just what he has come to expect from the Atlanta Falcons. He likened them to a student trying to do math that they’re just simply not ready for yet. Still, in order to make up for it, he says they better start calculating a way to get themselves into double-digit wins and a playoff appearance for the first time since 2017
“It’s like the Falcons are a fourth or fifth grade team. You know, they’re barely getting fractions right. We just started understanding decimals. Then, you know, you do a couple of decimal equations and you wake up and say, ‘I’m ready for Algebra III!'” Dukes said. “Like, no, you’re not! You don’t have time, you don’t have the capacity. This is not an Algebra III situation.”
“If I’m Terry Fontenot? He stood on business. You got to win 10 games this year – guaranteed. You got to get us to the playoffs,” stated Dukes. “There’s an old acronym that we like to use. It’s call DDNDS – the Falcons hate this because they always do it. DDNDS stands for Don’t Do No Dumb you know what. The Falcons love to go do it.”
Atlanta still has seven more picks in this draft, including three today in the second and third rounds. Any of those could turn out to be solid choices to better position them for next season.
With that said, the feeling for Dukes and those around The A is a form of disappointment. That’s why he’s staying inside today, tuning into the local sports show, and starting to hope that the Falcons’ selection of Penix Jr. doesn’t come back to cost them
“I, for all Falcons fans, really hopes this works out. I hope that we go on a magical run this year, a la Detroit last year, where, even if you don’t get to the pinnacle, getting close makes the city feel good and it brings some positive energy to the city. But, right now, this feels a step below 28-3,” Dukes proclaimed. “Everybody got the wind taken out of them last night. I can’t wait to go turn on the radio and go listen to everybody go off. It’s just one of those days where, being a Falcons fan, you earn your keep in order to celebrate the loudest when things do go well.”
“I need a haircut. I’m not going to the barbershop today. I’m not…I’m going to therapy,” said Dukes.
The post Phillip Dukes on Falcons’ drafting Michael Penix Jr. in Round 1: ‘Right now, this feels a step below 28-3’ appeared first on On3.
