EAGAN, Minn. — It’s worth going back in time. To the early spring of 2024, and to the free-agency period that altered the course of the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons organizations.
In Minnesota, you had a leadership group determined to go the young quarterback route. There was no anger or frustration directed at veteran, incumbent quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Vikings simply assessed the state of the NFL salary cap and came to a conclusion: If they wanted to compete for a title, they could no longer pay a premium for a QB who was returning from a torn Achilles tendon.
Atlanta’s lens was different. The Falcons had been getting lackluster quarterback play, particularly after the trade of Matt Ryan. They believed finding an experienced signal caller who could raise their floor was paramount. So, they paid Cousins handsomely, giving the free agent a four-year, $180 million deal with at least $90 million guaranteed.
One team opted to be bold. The Vikings’ strategy, culminating with the selection of J.J. McCarthy in the 2024 NFL Draft, came with no guarantees. At that point, neither general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah nor head coach Kevin O’Connell had gotten contract extensions.
The other team sought security. The Falcons dipped their toes in both the present and future, shocking the NFL world — a mere six weeks after signing Cousins — by drafting Michael Penix Jr. Because they committed so much money to Cousins, they didn’t have extra salary cap space to further supplement their roster.
Minnesota made the playoffs in 2024. Atlanta didn’t.
That they meet Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, so early in the 2025 season, is almost kismet. This is, in many ways, a matchup of two of the more interesting roster-building experiments. The Vikings are banking on the benefits of what the rookie quarterback contract allows them to do elsewhere on the roster. Without high-dollar additions on defense, the Falcons need their offense to be among the elite.
On that point, it’s tempting to compare the two quarterbacks. McCarthy thrives in the intermediate areas, while Penix lives on the long ball.
“He is a guy we studied a lot,” O’Connell said of Penix on Wednesday. “We know him very well, and we know how talented he is as a thrower of the football. He truly excelled at the collegiate level, pushing the ball downfield, finding his receivers and throwing guys open, and finding ways to have massive amounts of explosives in a game from the pocket.”
The Vikings seem to be a team built on both sides for consistent efficiency. The Falcons feel more volatile, almost like football’s version of a three-true-outcome baseball team composed of players who hit plenty of home runs but also strike out a lot.
Which path is more sensible? What better way to find out than a game between the two sides?
Evident, at the very least, is the Vikings’ feeling about Penix as a player.
“Major challenge,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Thursday. “(Penix) is a good young quarterback. No doubt about that. He certainly is. This is similar to last week,” he continued, referring to when the Vikings faced another second-year quarterback in Caleb Williams of the Bears. “The talent level is here.”
LIVE: Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores talks to the media https://t.co/LISM3KMnEJ
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 11, 2025
As he said that, Flores raised his hand near the top of his head. You might recall the Vikings’ process in the lead-up to the 2024 draft. Minnesota’s brass flew across the country, spending considerable time with each of the premier quarterback prospects, watching them throw and interviewing their coaches. McCarthy and Penix were intriguing case studies.
McCarthy was more of the “unknown.” Yes, he won a national championship at Michigan, but he threw only 713 passes during his three college seasons, compared to Penix’s 1,685 over six seasons between Indiana and Washington. Penix is a lefty. McCarthy arrived by way of a more pro-style offense. Penix’s mechanics are less traditional, and McCarthy was a higher-profile prospect coming out of high school. McCarthy completed a higher percentage of third-down passes in his final season in Ann Arbor, but Penix attempted more than 30 more.
Ahead of their College Football Playoff final, Randy Mueller, now an executive for the New Orleans Saints, wrote that Penix and McCarthy “are both so talented, and yet, they could not be more different.” Mueller framed their dichotomy this way: “NFL evaluators can identify McCarthy’s traits, and his lack of reps might give him a higher ceiling once he masters his trade. Where would he be in Year 6 of his development? It makes for a fascinating comparison that will no doubt lead to hours of discussion within NFL buildings.”
The morning of the draft, even Penix’s college coaches at Washington were uncertain about where he’d land. Some thought Las Vegas would be in play. Minnesota was mentioned. Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips joked recently about Penix’s hand size wowing him during the evaluation process.
“He had a great workout (with us),” Phillips said Thursday. “He can really spin the football. Accurate. … He was a great young man to sit down and spend time with: smart, capable, talented — everything good.”
Atlanta’s decision to pluck him from the board at No. 8 perplexed NFL experts and staffers alike because of the financial commitment they’d made to Cousins. Essentially, the question was this: If you’re going the rookie route, why not use the surplus value to plug roster leaks at other positions? This is how the Vikings were able to sign core players such as Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Aaron Jones and others.
The first three players contributed to a defense that ranked No. 2 in the NFL in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average), a comprehensive metric that measures a team’s efficiency. By comparison, the Falcons, who had pass rush issues all season, ranked 29th. Coaching is a key aspect of this juxtaposition. That’s why the Falcons fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and replaced him with Jeff Ulbrich.
But there are two other stark differences: 1) Cousins’ $40 million cap hit for 2025 cannot be used for ancillary pieces, and 2) the Vikings are spending almost $63 million more on their 2025 team.
The results of the season will prove more than the looming matchup, but the contrast feels meaningful. How much does the specific young quarterback matter compared to the resources that exist — cap space, coaching, overall culture — to optimally set that quarterback up for success? Is it smart to hedge with a high-priced veteran like Cousins, or is it more worthwhile to roll the dice?
The final stories of these two teams will offer answers to those questions. But this compelling chapter in that tale should not be overlooked.
(Photos: Patrick McDermott and Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
