I’ve watched 40+ NFL Drafts in my lifetime and truly don’t think this situation has ever occurred before.
Everyone keeps talking about what the Packers did (twice) in drafting heir apparents to sit. Of course, those picks were made in the 20s and not the top 10 of the draft. The Packers franchise was also fresh off many playoff seasons in both instances so the situations are quite different.
My question is, and I think I know the answer, has a team ever drafted a player in the top 10 knowing he was going to be a backup for 2-3 years? I can’t for the life of me think of anything close to what the Falcons did.
The advantage that a rookie QB contract gives a team’s cap is mitigated by Cousins contract structure. Let’s say the Falcons roll with Kirk for 2 years and then move on with Penix. The dead cap for Cousins will be $35 mil which means the QB position in Year 3 of Penix’s rookie deal will cost the Falcons somewhere around $41 mil that year. So no cap relief with his rookie deal through 3 years and the Falcons will have to decide at that point whether to pick up Penix’s 5th year option while really never seeing much of a track record of what he can do in games.
Ignoring the player (‘cause I like Penix) but I ask you if this is potentially the worst pick in NFL history considering how high the pick was and the fact there are no plans to start him for probably 3 years?
Everyone keeps talking about what the Packers did (twice) in drafting heir apparents to sit. Of course, those picks were made in the 20s and not the top 10 of the draft. The Packers franchise was also fresh off many playoff seasons in both instances so the situations are quite different.
My question is, and I think I know the answer, has a team ever drafted a player in the top 10 knowing he was going to be a backup for 2-3 years? I can’t for the life of me think of anything close to what the Falcons did.
The advantage that a rookie QB contract gives a team’s cap is mitigated by Cousins contract structure. Let’s say the Falcons roll with Kirk for 2 years and then move on with Penix. The dead cap for Cousins will be $35 mil which means the QB position in Year 3 of Penix’s rookie deal will cost the Falcons somewhere around $41 mil that year. So no cap relief with his rookie deal through 3 years and the Falcons will have to decide at that point whether to pick up Penix’s 5th year option while really never seeing much of a track record of what he can do in games.
Ignoring the player (‘cause I like Penix) but I ask you if this is potentially the worst pick in NFL history considering how high the pick was and the fact there are no plans to start him for probably 3 years?
