ESPN Analytics lead analyst Seth Walder graded and, despite the talk around the move dying down, the found their grade near the bottom of the list. Walder gave the Falcons a C-, pinpointing the drafting of rookie quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. as a key reason for the off-season's plummeting value.Fully guaranteeingCousins $90 million is fine. Drafting Penix at No. 8 overall is fine. The same franchise doing both? Not fine.NFL teams have hard constraints on roster-building resources with the salary cap and draft capital. Because of this, each of these moves detracts from the value of the other. Signing Cousins made sense because it allows the Falcons to Buck Williams Jersey take advantage of their weak division with improved quarterback play. While they didn't have a stacked roster entering the offseason, the building blocks were there and if they hit their acquisitions in free agency and the draft just right they could be a true NFC contender with a healthy Cousins. Selecting Penix, naturally, diminished that chance.On the flip side, the value of a quarterback on a rookie contract allows a franchise to invest in the roster around him because rookies come so cheap. But in this case, they pay a veteran QB price for Cousins in the first two years of Penix's contract. To make the two moves together shows a lack of vision.Atlanta's biggest move in free agency (besides Cousins) was signing wide receiverDarnell Mooneyto a deal thatincluded $26 million fully guaranteed. It was worth it, though, given the team's need at receiver beyondDrake London. At the timeI wrote that Atlanta would likely view Mooney as a WR3that would fit nicely along with London and a first-round instant-impact rookie. That could have come to fruition, asRome Odunzewas still on the board when Atlanta selected. Instead, they picked a player they hope won't see the field for a couple of seasons.The Falcons didflipquarterback Desmond Ridder for receiver Rondale Moore, but they still could use another pa s-catcher for Cousins ... unle s tight endKyle Pittsfinally regains his 2021 rookie form.Picking up Pitts' fifth-year option was a tell-tale sign that the Falcons expect him to regain that 2021 form and more. Outside of that, Walder's frustrations, like most, don't come from the drafting of Penix at eight. The frustrations surround the opportunity cost that picking Penix forces Atlanta to face. What happens if Laiatu Latu or Dallas Turner turns out to be a multi-year, double-digit sack guy? What if Odunze is the receiver the Falcons could have used to take this offense to that elite level?There will always be those questions, and now they are only elevated because we won't see the first of Penix for at least two years. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot Jersey