2024 NFL draft: Falcons pick Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8, ending Seahawks’ hopes

This move comes as a massive surprise, especially considering the four-year contract Atlanta just gave Kirk Cousins.

And so our watch ends. After several months of hype and hope about Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. staying in Seattle to play with the Seahawks, the dream has come to an end.

With the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Falcons picked Penix.

This move comes as a massive surprise, especially considering the four-year contract Atlanta just gave Kirk Cousins in free agency (worth $180 million total). The Falcons had been almost universally expected to pick an edge defender or an interior rusher.

Our best guess is that the Seahawks will be picking a defensive back at 16 if they don’t trade down. Iowa’s Cooper DeJean and Alabama’s Terrion Arnold are the most popular 11th hour names attached to Seattle.

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