The Falcons promised patience with Michael Penix Jr. when they shocked everyone by drafting him eighth overall last April– barely two months after handing Kirk Cousins $180 million. But that patience couldn’t last long. With Penix now holding the keys and Cousins settling into a backup role, Atlanta’s so-called long-term plan flipped faster than expected. Now, the challenge ahead is to prove that their roster construction makes sense and that their bold, heavily criticized gamble on Penix was worth it. Seems like the justification starts with the connection he’s already forging with Drake London.

Appearing on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, London was asked, “How excited are you for the new chapter?” and whether by the end of the season, the writing on the wall about Penix being the starter was clear to them. “Yeah, most definitely. One of our biggest emphasis obviously was to get more work over the course of the offseason and stuff. But I kept telling them that you really can’t take away those reps that we had in the game because it’s like you’re in the fire. There’s no go back and reset. Coach can’t say reset those. So, the ones that we put in the bank and we coined was like, okay, you know, it’s really, really good and it was promising. So, like I’m ecstatic for this season. I’m really really happy and so is everybody else,” he replied.

There’s a history there, in fact. There were three seconds left in the first half of the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 18 game against the Carolina Panthers. Penix let the ball fly on a rope. He spotted London in single coverage against cornerback Shemar Bartholomew, put the ball near London’s vicinity, and trusted his top target to win. And just as Penix’s gut said, it was a 20-yard touchdown catch. That was Penix’s third week with London and the starters. And while timing is still developing, Atlanta knows that connection is key to its 2025 hopes. London’s numbers in the final three games of the season, when playing with Penix, showed a strong connection, too.

In the 14 games he played with Cousins, he averaged 65.6 yards per game. In the three games he played with Penix, he averaged 117.3. He had one 100-yard game with Cousins. He had two (in three games) with Penix. No wonder Pro Football Focus placed Penix and London in its top 10 QB-WR duos entering 2025, despite their limited reps. It’s as Trevor Sikkema had noted:

“This is the big bet of these rankings. In Weeks 16, 17, and 18 of last season, Penix recorded an 89.5 PFF passing grade when targeting London, with four big-time throws, 15 first downs, and 352 yards in just those games.” If those final three games were any indication, Atlanta’s gamble may not look so reckless after all. Moreover, Penix Jr. knows a thing or two about deceiving the defenders whenever he’s under the center.

His NFL Scouting reports state that the second-year QB has “good eye discipline and is capable of manipulating defenders.” The importance of this skill is straightforward: it enables him to move defenders and create passing windows, thereby enhancing his effectiveness as a quarterback. The logic tracks as well. After all, the QB practices against veteran safety Jessie Bates.

And when Drake London was asked whether Penix’s impressive eye discipline stemmed from having to read and manipulate someone as tough as Bates in practice, the wideout didn’t hesitate—he confirmed it absolutely does. “Yeah, that definitely helps,” London said. “But I mean, you’ll see him do some stuff where you’re kind of like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t even know that ball was going to come to me.‘

“You know what I’m saying? So he’ll do no lookers, all — everything like that’s in the book. And it’s just cool to see that sort of like athletic arrogance on the field, you know? Like it’s really, really cool.” One of the many reasons Michael Penix Jr. is expected to stand out in his second season.

But, even so, Drake London hasn’t overlooked the value Cousins brought to the team during his first year as the Falcons’ QB, especially in providing crucial in-game experience that the young roster can build on. Take those three overtime games from last season. In Week 5, the veteran led a 36-30 win over the Buccaneers despite a late interception, throwing for a career-high 509 yards. Weeks later, he nearly rallied Atlanta past the Commanders with a late touchdown to Kyle Pitts before falling 30-24. And in the finale against Carolina, his leadership may just have set the tone as Penix capped the season with a 312-yard, two-touchdown performance in another overtime thriller.

For now, Cousins will likely serve as Michael Penix Jr.’s backup throughout the 2025 season. Yet there’s no denying that the second-year quarterback quietly learned a lot from the veteran during his rookie campaign—one of the key reasons Drake London is so excited as the Falcons head into the new season.