Saints set the record straight about Michael Penix Jr trade rumors

The New Orleans Saints selected Taliese Fuaga with the 14th pick in the first round. Six picks prior, the Atlanta Falcons shocked the NFL world by selecting Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick, which was the most stunning selection of Round 1.

The Falcons had just signed Kirk Cousins to a lengthy contract in the offseason and he's under contract for the next four years. Why are they spending a first-round pick on a quarterback who will be 27 years old when Cousins' contract is coming to an end?

Following the first round of the draft, there was a report that the Saints were interested in taking Penix with their first-round selection. This was a confusing revelation, as the Saints just signed Derek Carr a year ago and had bigger needs to address in the early rounds of the draft.

On Friday, however, John Hendrix tweeted that the report of the Saints trying to trade up to snag Penix was incorrect. He said that a reliable source said "It never happened."

Saints claim they didn't try to move up draft Michael Penix Jr.

We're hearing two very different reports about this and perhaps the Saints were interested in Penix and considered moving up to take him but then after seeing the hate the Falcons (deservedly) got for the decision, tried to backtrack and say they were never targeting him. Or maybe they were never considering moving up for the Washington quarterback in the first place.

At the end of the day, the draft played out the way it played out. The Falcons took Penix with their first-round pick despite having Cousins under contract for the next few years and six quarterbacks were taken with the first 12 picks. The run on quarterbacks helped the Saints get Fuaga, who is going to be an immediate help to their offensive line that has been a disaster over the past few years.

Let's be glad the draft played out the way it did.