Falcons taking Michael Penix Jr reportedly screwed up Raiders draft plans

There was really only one true wild moment during the first round of this weekend's NFL Draft, and it belonged, of course, to the Atlanta Falcons.

After giving Kirk Cousins a nine-figure deal barely a month ago, the Falcons turned around and confused the hell out of everyone on Friday night, using their first round pick – the 8th (!!) overall – to take Washington quarterback Michael Penix. It was, uh, certainly one choice they could have gone with.

And while people (rightfully) crushed the Falcons, Atlanta reportedly wasn't the only team interested in taking Penix with their first rounder. According to NFL reporter James Palmer, the Raiders were one of the teams interested in the decorated Washington QB.

Raiders Reportedly Tried To Trade Up For Michael Penix

On one hand, maybe the Falcons did the Raiders a favor by making their decision easy. At the very least, they saved the Raiders from being the butt of every first round joke. On the other, the Raiders didn't just pay someone $100 million, and it would have been way more understandable to let Penix sit for a year behind Gardner Minshew, as opposed to sitting for four or five behind Cousins.

Instead, the Raiders pivoted plans and took star Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, who projects as a Day 1 starter. Whether that's as a tight end or a wide reciever remains to be seen, but he'll be on the field somewhere. And the Raiders didn't have to deal with awkward videos of their GM trying to explain the decision to the owner, so really, it was a win-win in Las Vegas on Thursday night.