ATLANTA — Full disclosure: On Monday, having read ESPN’s report that the Falcons might draft Michael Penix, I forwarded it to esteemed colleague D. Orlando Ledbetter with this comment: “Not sure I believe it.”

Full disclosure: On Thursday night, when the Falcons drafted Penix, I gasped.

Full disclosure: The first email I saw Friday morning asked, “Do you wish you’d waited a day or two before putting your admiration for Terry Fontenot in print?”

My actual response: “Um … can I get back to you on that?”

But enough about the exciting life of M. Bradley, typist. Here’s where the typist offers words you’ll hate.

I understand why the Falcons did what they did.

They saw qualities in Penix they loved so much they spent the No. 8 pick on the first-rounder least apt to play significant downs in 2024. We emphasize that this franchise was picking No. 8 for a third consecutive April because it failed to find Arthur Smith a quarterback of NFL caliber. It now has two, or so it believes.

Such a move isn’t without precedent. Green Bay had Brett Favre when it drafted Aaron Rodgers. (And Rodgers when it drafted Jordan Love.) Kansas City had Alex Smith – granted, not quite Favre or Rodgers – when it drafted Patrick Mahomes. The Falcons had Chris Chandler, who’d led them to a Super Bowl, when they traded up to take Michael Vick No. 1 overall in 2001.

The advent of Vick sparked such delight in Falcon fandom that a traffic jam ensued in Flowery Branch on that April Saturday — even though the draftee was nowhere near Georgia. Honesty compels me to note that this pick has been received less warmly.

At 7:47 a.m. Friday, Adam Johnson of the Sports Geek, which tracks social media, emailed with this cheery news: “The Atlanta Falcons have had a 20% positive reaction to their 1st Round pick of Michael Penix! This actually makes the Atlanta Falcons the angriest fan base.”

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