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The Atlanta Falcons were up to something pretty cool during the 2024 NFL Draft. They picked a quarterback named Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8, even though they had just paid a lot of money to another quarterback, Kirk Cousins.
Imagine if they had traded up to No. 6 to get Penix!
There were rumors that the Falcons talked to the New York Giants about moving up in the draft. In a trailer for HBO’s Hard Knocks, which features the Giants this offseason, you can see Joe Schoen answering a call from Atlanta. It’s unclear if this happened during the first round or later rounds of the draft.
In the first round, the Giants made a smart move by picking LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6. They also showed some interest in drafting Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who went to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 10. The video clip has a lot of details, but it seems like Atlanta was worried others might take Penix too early.
Are you paying attention? Try to spot more clues about Atlanta’s attempt to trade up.
The trailer for the Hard Knocks: Offseason with the Giants.
A few things that stood out:
They show the 2024 NFL Draft coverage and it sounds like the Falcons were trying to move up to the Giants No. 6 spot. There were reports that Atlanta might have wanted Malik Nabers before… pic.twitter.com/P9WAbtXSKD
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) June 25, 2024
The series premieres on July 2nd, and fans are eager to see how both teams perform this season.
Now let’s break it down further. If Atlanta really wanted Nabers, they would have had one of football’s best receiving groups. They already had Drake London and signed Darnell Mooney from Chicago during free agency. Plus, they traded their former starting quarterback Desmond Ridder to Arizona for Rondale Moore.
Nabers joining Atlanta would have made their wide receiver room even more crowded but not as controversial as taking Penix at No. 8 or trading up for him at No. 6. “Nabers was always WR2 on my board,” said an analyst, “behind Marvin Harrison Jr., but just ahead of Rome Odunze.” The draft board was wild last spring…
What if the Giants did trade back? They would have felt pressured either to take Odunze or worse—a quarterback! Penix was well-regarded throughout the draft process; having interviewed him before, I can say he’s a quiet yet confident leader—someone you can build around.
By picking Nabers when they did, the Giants avoided unnecessary scrutiny over selecting a quarterback like McCarthy over Penix. McCarthy might be in a great situation with Minnesota now, but will Penix even get playing time soon in Atlanta? He’ll be ready when his time comes—but when will that be?
For now, we have to trust Falcons GM Terry Fontenot’s talent scouting skills and wait until Hard Knocks airs on July 2nd to see what offers were made to the Giants.
