While the Atlanta Braves were enjoying a well-deserved off day on Thursday, apparently the NFL Draft kicked off that night. Normally, such an occasion deserves little more than a "oh, good for them" from devoted baseball fans along with a bit of annoyance at the number of day baseball games being played to accommodate for draft coverage. However, the hometown Atlanta Falcons made some waves in the first round to say the least that warrants a bit of attention.
With the eighth overall pick in the draft, the Falcons went off-script and picked Michael Penix Jr., a quarterback out of the University of Washington. We aren't going to pretend to be football analysts here, but it is safe to say that the vast majority of people considered the pick to be very confusing and a major reach with other quarterbacks being more highly ranked and the Falcons having just spent nine figures to sign Kirk Cousins to play the same position.
However, what was funny is how Atlanta fans took the opportunity to be extremely thankful that the city has the such a well-run sports team in the Braves, because the rest of Atlanta's teams are decidedly not.
The Braves stand out in Atlanta as only well-run sports franchise once again
In a lot of ways, the Braves are THE model for the rest of MLB in terms of how to run a successful and sustainable team. They develop players well, they spend a good bit but spread their money around, they don't usually take on bad contracts, and they just win baseball games and a lot of them. Ask anyone and they will tell you that the Braves are going to be contenders for a long-time under general manager Alex Anthopoulos given how they are set up and run.
Conversely, you have the Falcons who can't seem to stop finding ways to embarrass themselves from their play on the field, their coaching and personnel decisions, and a recent track record in the draft that leaves a lot to be desired. Over with the Hawks, they have Trae Young who is great and have had a couple decent runs, but generally infuriate their fans and have a reviled owner in Tony Ressler that is meddlesome and who placed his son in a position of power despite not have anywhere near the credentials or ability to function there.
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 to Penix Jr., he doesn't deserve hate here at all. He was a great college quarterback and it probably (definitely) sucks to get picked in the top 10 of the draft only for most of his new fanbase to immediately turn on him just because he got picked. If he shows out at quarterback, everyone will forget who the Falcons could have drafted ahead of him. That said, you do have to feel for the guy.
However, there are some real process and decision-making problems with Atlanta's other sports teams and that makes appreciating Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of the Braves' front office even easier. The Braves clearly have a well-thought-out plan each year and are willing to make bold moves that may look weird because they put in the work to justify them. Atlanta fans may have woken up angry this morning that the Falcons seemingly blew another high draft pick, but at least they have the Braves to rely on.