FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — There is one question that always pops up time and time again whenever we reach certain points in the offseason. It's a question I have developed a love/hate relationship with. The question in question?

"Why do the Falcons not draft players from the University of Georgia?"

As a Georgia graduate myself, I genuinely like hearing about the success of players who stomped the same grounds as I once did; players I once covered myself not too terribly long ago. Despite my love for Taylor Swift, I was adamant that I wanted to see the Philadelphia Eagles earn a Super Bowl ring because 1) I like parity, and 2) I have always believed defenses win championship (the latter probably a byproduct of being a defensive coordinator's daughter, but I digress).

I will admit it: I like watching this Eagles defense play. It's familiar to me. Of course it is. I watched that Georgia group avenge my collegiate broken heart after Alabama crushed it on a second and 26 play back in 2018.

However, do I believe there is some conspiracy going on in which the Falcons organization has an aversion to drafting Georgia players? Goodness no.

It goes beyond simply stating the Falcons don't draft Georgia players and they lose because of it. Nothing in the league is that simple. There have been great defenses come along in recent years that didn't have a single Georgia player on it, and there will be more in the future. Heck, there have been teams that have won Super Bowls who can't chalk up their successes to simply drafting from one university's program. That's crazy talk.

What's not crazy talk — and what I hope you stick around to read — is the strategy of drafting college football's best and most experienced. Let's get into it.

Barry W. from Rex, Georgia

Not long ago someone on the Falcons staff thought it would be good to model the offense after the Lions offense. I suggest that the Falcons go more after what the balance the Eagles have. Their defense is dominant. They went after about five guys from that great Georgia defense from the two title teams. That means using multiple drafts on the best defenses in college football. Don't you think patterning your team after the Eagles is a better way to measure your team?

Tori: Barry, I think you bring up the point I am actively trying to make in my lede. The Eagles' success in drafts since 2020 is a byproduct of them going after significant playmakers on two of college football's best teams at the time: Alabama and Georgia. And doing so early.

Of the Eagles' 10 first- or second-round picks in the last five draft cycles, six of the 10 have ties to either Alabama or Georgia. That includes three offensive guys (Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson) and three defensive guys (Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith).

The priority in top-draft picks in the first couple years revolved around shoring up the offense. Priority shifted in the last few years to focus on the defense. The main difference for the Eagles is that when they hit on a player early — particularly defensively — they hit big.

You're never going to bat 1.000 in the draft. Heck, you're lucky to bat .500. But when it comes to how the Eagles have built their defense over five years' time, they've drafted very well. Of their 11 primary defensive starters (and this does include Nakobe Dean seeing as he started the most games in 2024), eight of those players are draftees spanning from four first-round picks, one second-round pick, two third-round picks and one fourth-round pick. When it comes to draft capital, the Eagles invested heavily in their defense, while retaining and developing talent in later rounds (like Josh Sweat and Milton Williams).

Have the Eagles prioritized drafting college football's best in recent years? Yes. Did a lot of those individuals just so happen to go to the University of Georgia or Alabama? Also, yes. But I think the key to the success of the Eagles has more to do with the former question than the latter.

That, and more often than not in recent years, they've drafted players early who have become important figures for them, regardless of their collegiate loyalties. If you're a football fan, you probably know a vast majority of the Eagles' picks of the first two days of the draft. They have name recognition because of what they've done as college players and pros.

In the first round alone since 2020, the Eagles have drafted five starters or what I consider to be consistent playmakers. On Day 2 (since 2020), the Eagles have drafted seven starters or consistent playmakers. They're hitting and hitting often with their picks on Day 1 and Day 2, especially recently. By comparison...

Outside of Matthew Bergeron, Arnold Ebiketie and Zach Harrison in the second and third rounds, I don't think there are many Falcons players taken outside the first round on those days who have been particularly impactful, yet.

Richie Grant and Jalen Mayfield didn't really work out. Troy Andersen has been injured for much of his career, DeAngelo Malone has been a core special teams player, sure, and we all know what happened with Desmond Ridder. Jury is still out on who Ruke Orhorhoro and Bralen Trice can become. I think therein lies the crossroad. Not where certain individuals spent their college years. It's who has been impactful and what capital was used to obtain them.

Where the Eagles hit on defensive players like Carter, Davis and Mitchell, the Falcons picked up Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Michael Penix Jr. But where the Eagles picked up Hurts, Landon Dickerson, Nolan Smith, Dean and Cooper DeJean? The Falcons picked up one true starter, Bergeron, and a couple rotational and developmental guys, Ebiketie and Harrison. That, to me, is the key.

Will S. from Summerville, Georgia

Hi, Tori. Still trying to digest the latest on Kirk Cousins. ... My question is this: Could he have his contract voided, or be penalized in some other way? I don't know if this is even possible in the NFL, but in my mind it would be justified to just release him, with no more compensation. Your thoughts?

Tori: Yeahhhhh, that isn't happening. There is no way around the compensation owed to Cousins. One way or another, he gets paid for the contract he signed. Now, can the money can be allocated in different ways? Sure. For example, if he is traded after June 1, another team can take on his guaranteed salary in 2025, which is $27.5 million and that would be the cap savings the Falcons would hypothetically acquire if the other team in question agreed to pay that salary.

But it is important to note Cousins' cap number for the Falcons is $40 million regardless if he is cut or traded. You can't just... not... pay something you're contractually obligated to, no matter what is said in the media about an injury or a reason for decreased productivity. The Falcons are in this contract with Cousins. And because of the no-trade clause, all parties have to agree on how to move forward if the Falcons are still comfortable with keeping Cousins on the roster in 2025 as the backup to Penix, which is what Terry Fontenot said in his end-of-year press conference in January.

I don't know what is going to happen with Cousins and the Falcons. But I do know there will be financial repercussions either way. There was always going to be (whether he was starting or not) because the Falcons gave him $90 million guaranteed. There is no way around that.