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The Atlanta Falcons are once again heading into a season with relatively high expectations. That’s largely due to a roster that now features five former first-round draft picks taken inside the top 20 — four of whom were selected in the top 10. That includes offensive playmakers Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and, most notably, last year’s surprise No. 8 overall pick, Michael Penix Jr.
This group was expected to come together during Raheem Morris’ first season as head coach. Instead, Atlanta suffered its seventh consecutive postseason absence — a continuation of one of the NFL’s most frustrating droughts.
The Falcons are now enduring one of the longest playoff dry spells in professional sports. But they believe they have the solution to end it. Then again, they believed the same thing last offseason when they handed Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million deal. That’s why, when talking about the Falcons player facing the most pressure entering 2025, the answer is clearly Penix — now entering his first full season as the declared starter.
Whether it’s fair or not, Michael Penix Jr. is now tethered to the jobs of both head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. And that’s not just speculation.
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin placed Morris among the league’s lowest-ranked head coaches this offseason, landing him at No. 27 in the “unproven and underwhelming” category. His 8-9 record in 2024, following a promising 6-3 start, only added to the pressure.
“For a team that was supposed to be a quarterback away going into 2024,” Benjamin wrote, “the young Falcons have a lot of questions after Morris’ situational calls contributed to another non-playoff season in Atlanta. If Michael Penix Jr. delivers under center, the tides could turn.”
The same applies to Fontenot, who made the controversial decision to draft Penix just weeks after committing nearly $200 million to Cousins. For all the talk about building for the future, the optics haven’t aged well. Penix was supposed to be a luxury pick — not a necessity in Year 2.
Instead, Cousins’ injury woes, including shoulder and elbow issues late last season, opened the door for Penix to take over the final three games of 2024. He performed well enough that Morris declared him the 2025 starter before spring workouts even began.
Now, there’s no going back.
Despite some early optimism, the situation surrounding Penix remains a precarious one.
In three starts last season, Penix went 1-2 while completing under 60% of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Bleacher Report’s Damian Parson noted that while Penix flashed upside, his accuracy and ball placement remain concerns.
“Penix needs to be more consistent from the pocket and improve his accuracy, ball placement, and completion percentage,” Parson wrote. “If these boxes are checked, the Falcons will compete with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the...
