Cousins Looks To Have the Falcons Soaring In 2024
The 2024 Kirk Cousins Season Odds Could See the Veteran QB Top 4000 Yards Again
Can Cousins Lead the Atlanta Falcons Into the Playoffs For the First Time Since 2017?
After spending his first six NFL seasons with Washington and posting four 4000-yard seasons in his six years with the Minnesota Vikings, Kirk Cousins earned a hefty payday when he signed with the Atlanta Falcons. What will the 2024 Kirk Cousins season odds look like with the veteran quarterback getting acclimated to new teammates and a new offensive system?
The ultimate irony is that the Minnesota Vikings expressed the desire to draft the eventual replacement for Cousins in a quarterback-rich 2024 NFL Draft and that led him to head to Atlanta. However, Atlanta actually selected a quarterback in the draft two picks before the Vikings.
- Cousins is expected to open the season as the starting quarterback for Atlanta. There are 16 players with shorter odds than Cousins at +3300 to be NFL’s MVP and 15 of them are quarterbacks.
The Falcons are eighth at +1600 in the odds of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Things could be interesting in December when Atlanta has road games in Minnesota and Washington, his two former teams.
The NFL picks against the spread has Atlanta listed as a 2.5-point favorite against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers in the Sept. 8 season opener.
Cousins Getting Better With Age
When looking at 2024 Kirk Cousins season odds, keep in mind that he was on pace to have one of his best seasons in 2023.
Cousins had a chance to complete 70% of his passes for the second time.
While he might have struggled to reach his career-high of 4917 passing yards from his final season in Washington, he likely would have had the most passing yards and touchdowns in his six seasons with the Vikings.
Cousins threw for over 4000 yards in four of the last six seasons. He also had at least three times as many touchdown passes as interceptions in four of those seasons.
Earn the right for Atlanta to ride with us pic.twitter.com/j9EJaLqBo9
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) July 31, 2024
Among active players, he is fifth in career passing yards, is fourth in career touchdown passes, and seventh in passing efficiency.
Cousins needs 529 yards to become the 24th quarterback in NFL history to throw for 40,000 career yards. With another 4,000-yard season, he would pass Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, and Dan Fouts on the career passing yardage charts. The NFL season stats could have Cousins among the NFL leaders in passing yards once again.
Plenty of Talent to Work With
Cousins benefitted from throwing to Justin Jefferson for his last four seasons in Minnesota. Before that, Stefon Diggs was his top pass catcher.
The Atlanta Falcons used recent top picks on offensive skill players, adding more game-breaking talents to their offense.
Falcons training camp: Defense shines in most competitive practice (so far).
Today was jam-packed with action, so much so there are observations from yours truly, @tori_mcelhaney and @willmcfadden.
🔗 MORE: https://t.co/Hmz92sw0VO
— Terrin Waack (@TerrinWaack) July 31, 2024
Running back Bijan Robinson is expected to have a heavier workload after being underutilized as a top-10 pick last year. Drake London was the first receiver, going eighth overall in the 2022 draft. Tight end Kyle Pitts was selected fourth overall in 2021. Jake Matthews and Chris Lindstrom are among the top offensive linemen.
When looking at the 2024 Kirk Cousins season odds, Cousins is tied for seventh at +1400 in the odds of leading the NFL in passing yards with London showing up in the top 10 in the odds to be the leader in receiving yards. Will the presence of Robinson result in Atlanta leaning more heavily on the running game?
When Does The Understudy Take Over?
Few recent top-10 picks shocked like the Falcons choosing Washington quarterback Michael Penix eighth overall in April’s draft.
Penix led Washington to the national title game and could have a memorable NFL career. Atlanta, finishing 18th in scoring defense last season, had its pick of the top defensive player in the draft.
Cousins is signed with the Falcons through the 2027 season. His contract accounts for 9.79% of the salary cap for the Falcons in 2024. That number jumps to 14.64% in 2025 and 19.66% in 2026.
Using a top-10 pick on a backup quarterback might work for a team regularly in the playoffs, but for a team that hasn’t been in the postseason since 2017, it is a different story. Time will tell if the Falcons made the right decision.
What About the Falcons?
Atlanta leads the way at -125 to win the NFC South despite finishing third twice and fourth twice in the last four seasons.
Atlanta has -190 odds to make the playoffs. Among NFC teams, only the 49ers, Lions, Eagles, Cowboys, and Packers have shorter Super Bowl odds than the Falcons.
A quick peek at the NFL schedule, opening the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will be rather challenging.
The next three games are division contests. This division has seen a 9-8 record be enough to win.
Only one of the last seven games is against a division opponent. That game will be the season finale against the Carolina Panthers, projected to finish last in the NFC South again.
