FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — This Falcons front office has never been in the market of doing things the conventional way.

Since Terry Fontenot took over as general manager in 2021, the Falcons have zagged when everyone else zigged when it comes to draft strategy, particularly in the first round.

And with every pick the Falcons made, conventional wisdom went further out the door, and everyone took notice.

No tight end has ever been taken at No. 4 overall? They go get Kyle Pitts.

“The Falcons had a tough choice here: Invest in the long-term future and draft a quarterback, or go for the gusto in 2021 and give soon-to-be-36-year-old signal-caller Matt Ryan another talented pass-catching weapon,” The Ringer’s Danny Kelly wrote in 2021. “They went with the latter.”

Drake London wasn’t the top-rated wide receiver in his draft class by some draft analyst? Atlanta takes him off the board first.

“London is a big receiver, but he doesn’t run that well. This is a team that needed to add more speed. I would have taken Garrett Wilson in this spot. He would have given them more of an immediate impact,” CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco wrote in 2022. “London is good. But there were better options.”

The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia: “I’m not there with London.

“This could be one that makes me look foolish down the road, but I would have preferred Jameson Williams or Garrett Wilson here if the Falcons wanted to go wide receiver.”

No one would dare take a running back in the top 10; not at their valuation and short expected longevity. The Falcons — along with the Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs and the Eagles and Saquon Barkley — usher in a running back renaissance.

“This is way too high for a back, even if he’s a really good player. Backs don’t decide Super Bowls. … History isn’t kind to this type of move. I don’t like it because of position value,” Prisco, again in 2023. “Good player, bad position.”

The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer: “Robinson has great potential as an explosive feature workhorse and was first-round worthy. He will be productive early, but the bottom line is Atlanta isn’t a team that could afford to use such high capital on an already good rushing attack.”

Then, last year, there’s the shock of the draft: Atlanta drafts Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick after picking up Kirk Cousins in free agency. They double dip, hoping to shore up their future.

The Athletic: “His arm talent is outstanding, and it’s hard to bet against his perseverance. At No. 8, though? This feels a reach. Time will tell.”

SB Nation: “This is confusing. Love the player, weird fit and spot to take him.”

CBS Sports: “Like the player, but don’t like the pick.”

Bleacher Report: “Taking Penix at No. 8 is awful resource allocation. It’s also downright atrocious value.”

Everyone questioned it. Few understood the reasoning for it. It went completely against conventional wisdom. And yet, thank goodness they did it, right? If the Falcons reach the postseason in 2025, perhaps that sentence will turn into, ‘Thank goodness they did it all.’

And while time will tell, the Falcons’ young core seem to be trending where Atlanta wants and needs them to.

In fact, the trio of Robinson, London and Penix made NFL history in the Falcons’ season finale last year. In 105 years of the league, no team had ever had a 300-yard passer, a 175-yard receiver and a 150-yard rusher in a single game who were all under 25 years old. This group did so against the Carolina Panthers in January, just their third complete game together.

With all this background, it stands to reason we should expect the relatively unexpected when it comes to the Falcons and the draft. What’s interesting is the Falcons actually did what was expected… and then went right back to switching it up.

Drafting Jalon Walker at No. 15? OK. Conventional wisdom. Arguably the best player available at the time who just so happens to play within a position of need. Moving back up into the first round to grab James Pearce Jr., giving up a 2026 first-round pick in the process? Not so much.

What’s different about the Falcons in the last two years, though, is they’ve actually gone with an approach that puts their biggest needs in the brightest spotlight, despite notably not doing so with the Pitts, London and Robinson picks. Still, they’ve done so in an unconventional way.