EXCLUSIVE
Michael Penix Jr. has huge arm and new Falcon could be the best rookie QB drafted, as Kirk Cousins’ replacement takes centre stage in NFL
Caleb Williams is getting all the hype and Drake Maye is the most divisive.
But there's one college quarterback who could end up having the best career among all NFL Draft QB prospects.
3
Michael Penix Jr. spent four seasons at Indiana before a two-year run with Washington propelled the Huskies to the College Football Playoff championship against Michigan.
Despite having injury issues in college and being on the verge of becoming a 24-year-old NFL rookie, Penix's arm and overall athletic talent could allow him to stand out in the pros.
"If you told me that in the rookie season Michael Penix would be as good as anybody in this draft class, just off pure ability and his ability to throw the football, I wouldn’t be shocked by that because he can really, really deliver the ball," NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah exclusively told talkSPORT.
The Atlanta Falcons stunned NFL fans across the globe by taking Penix at No. 8, despite recently giving veteran QB Kirk Cousins a huge $180 million deal that included $100 million guaranteed.
READ MORE ON NFL
Penix totaled 13,741 passing yards and 96 touchdowns in collge while playing in 49 games.
Last season, he was one of the best QBs in the sport and guided Washington to a 14-1 record.
His experience could be a big positive in the pros.
But it's also clear that his six-year amateur run counts against him in the eyes of some teams.
Most read in NFL
3
3
Penix dealt with ACL and shoulder injuries early in college.
Then he flourished at Washington, winning the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player and being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, while leading the top division with 4,903 passing yards.
Travis Kelce reveals he's had a vision of Kirk Cousins in an Atlanta gentlemen's club
"I think with him it’s the durability more so than anything else," Jeremiah said. "He’s been able to stay healthy the last few years, which is great to see.
"But you’ve got a situation where he’s had a couple shoulder injuries, he’s had a couple knee injuries, he’s a little bit older – you kind of factor all those things in to his evaluation, which to me is why he slides in behind some of those guys."
Williams has been touted as a franchise QB for Chicago, Jayden Daniels won the latest Heisman, and J.J. McCarthy beat Penix for the national title.
But Jeremiah believes that if Penix could outshine all the other rookie QBs.
"I think he’s really talented," Jeremiah said. "He’s got a big arm, a live arm."
The NFL Draft keeps getting larger and larger — and so do the crowds.
What used to occur in a hotel room with names written on a blackboard has become a massive three-day event televised on multiple networks at once.
More than 275,000 fans attended the first round on Thursday in downtown Detroit, watching Williams go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.
The huge crowd set a NFL Draft record, breaking the all-time day one mark of 200,000 set in 2019 by Nashville, Tenn.​
Topics