Falcons’ latest draft disaster has Braves fans very pleased for Alex Anthopoulos

Don’t worry, Falcons fans. The Braves are still here for you to make you happy.

While the Atlanta Braves were enjoying a well-deserved day off on Thursday, it appears that the NFL Draft began that night. Normally, such an occasion would elicit little more than a “oh, good for them” from die-hard baseball fans, along with some displeasure at the number of day baseball games being played to accommodate draft coverage. However, the native Atlanta Falcons created some waves in the first round, which deserves some attention.

With the eighth overall pick in the draft, the Falcons went off script and selected Michael Penix Jr., a quarterback from the University of Washington. We’re not going to pretend to be football analysts here, but it’s safe to say that the vast majority of people thought the pick was very confusing and a big reach, especially given that other quarterbacks were higher ranked and the Falcons had just spent nine figures to sign Kirk Cousins to play the same position.

What was interesting was how Atlanta fans used the chance to express their gratitude for the city’s well-run sports team, the Braves, because the rest of Atlanta’s teams are clearly not.

The Braves stand out in Atlanta as only well-run sports franchise once again

In many ways, the Braves are THE model for the rest of MLB in terms of building a strong and sustainable franchise. They develop players effectively, spend a lot of money but spread it around, don’t typically sign terrible contracts, and simply win a lot of baseball games. Ask anyone, and they will tell you that the Braves will be contenders for a long time under general manager Alex Anthopoulos, given how they are set up and managed.

In contrast, the Falcons can’t seem to stop finding ways to embarrass themselves through their on-field performance, coaching and personnel selections, and a recent draft track record that leaves a lot to be desired. Over with the Hawks, they have Trae Young, who is great and has had a couple of decent runs, but generally irritates their fans, and they have a reviled owner in Tony Ressler, who is meddlesome and has placed his son in a position of power despite having no credentials or ability to do so.

Atlanta fans seem to agree with that assessment after last night’s draft pick.

The Hawks and Falcons are on a daily mission to make everyone as diehard a Braves fan as possible and they are both tremendous at it

— Stephen (@b_outliers) April 26, 2024

I can’t believe I’m saying this but Libery Media is the best ownership in this town and this has nothing to do with Michael Penix

— TTrain24 (@D_Rock9779) April 26, 2024

To be fair, Penix Jr. does not deserve any animosity here. He was a fantastic college quarterback, and it probably (certainly) sucked to be selected in the top ten of the draft only to have the majority of his new audience quickly turn on him simply because he was chosen. If he performs well at quarterback, everyone will forget who the Falcons could have selected ahead of him. That being said, you have to feel for the guy.

However, Atlanta’s other sports teams have some serious procedural and decision-making issues, which makes appreciating Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of the Braves’ executive office even easier. The Braves certainly have a well-thought-out plan each year and are willing to make risky choices that may appear strange because they have put in the effort to justify them. Atlanta supporters may have woken up unhappy this morning because the Falcons appear to have blown another top draft pick, but they still have the Braves to rely on.