No doubt, anyone associated with fantasy football has heard the news. Despite still being in the race for a division championship, the Atlanta Falcons are making a change at quarterback. Out with the old, in with the new, so to speak. What are we to make of all this? No worries, as this Michael Penix Fantasy Forecast has some thoughts.

First, the Quarterback Change

Surprising many, Atlanta announced this week that they are benching veteran Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. as the starting quarterback. Frankly, Cousins has struggled badly recently. Even last week’s positive recommendation on my starts/sits article didn’t help his performance.

On Monday Night Football against Vegas, Cousins did throw a touchdown pass. Sounds good until you realize it was his first score in his last five games. That result is absolutely shocking for a player who had seven in the two contests prior. Much worse, though, was the fact that he threw an interception. Truly, Cousins has gone off the rails with the picks, as he has a total of nine in the same period.

Further, he has lost the football to the ground 13 times this season. Long gone are the days of him throwing for multiple TDs, as he has done four times this season, including four in a game twice. Even with the poor performance, though, Atlanta did win the game.

Despite the result, Cousins is out, guaranteed contract or not, and Penix is in. As a rookie, Penix has 38 passing yards in two appearances in 2024. Not a surprising development, given that there was a veteran in front of him on the depth chart. Atlanta shocked everyone by taking Penix with the eighth overall pick in the last draft. The Falcons were expected to be patient with him waiting in the wings to take over as the starter eventually. However, the future is now as he will be taking the snaps from center as the number one quarterback.

Second, What’s a Fantasy Manager to Do?

Let me be clear about this. Just because the Falcons are turning to Penix doesn’t mean that fantasy managers have to do the same. Most are in the semifinals of the fantasy playoffs. It would be madness to put a rookie, making his first start into lineups in such a situation, regardless of the kind of league it is.

Bottom Line: Even with a positive matchup on deck (NY Giants, 21st against QBs at home), resist any and all thoughts of placing Penix into starting lineups. There has to be a better option. Find it.

The Last Word

Thank you for joining me for this Michael Penix Fantasy Forecast edition! Follow me on X (formerly Twitter)  @kevin62wilsea. Please feel free to share this article. Be sure to turn to bellyupsports.com and bellyupfantasysports.com for all the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL happenings and the latest sports news!