Michael Penix Jr. Picked No. 8 By Atlanta Falcons in First Round of 2024 NFL Draft
The Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 overall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft following his college career at Washington and Indiana.
After reaching the 2023 national championship game with Washington, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is headed to Atlanta.
The Falcons selected Penix No. 8 overall in the first round of Thursday's 2024 NFL Draft. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, Penix was the fourth quarterback off the board, following Caleb Williams (No. 1, Chicago Bears), Jayden Daniels (No. 2, Washington Commanders) and Drake Maye (No. 3, New England Patriots).
Penix joins an Atlanta Falcons organization that signed quarterback Kirk Cousins in March 2024 to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed
Here's the scouting report on Penix by NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.
"Penix will be a 24-year-old rookie with a history of season-ending injuries at Indiana and impressive production while at Washington. The Huskies’ offensive design helped declutter coverages for Penix, allowing him to throw a higher number of intermediate and deep passes. He plays with smart pocket mobility and a willingness to get rid of the football, which makes it difficult to sack him. His delivery is bundled and his release point is very low, but his monster game against Texas showed flashes of impeccable touch."
"Penix has plenty of arm but needs to work with more consistent timing between the numbers to eliminate unnecessary contested throws. He’s a pocket passer who was ineffective in 2023 when defenses were able to crank up the heat and make him move his feet. Playing in a shotgun-based spread attack might give him his best chance to succeed, but he needs to prove he can thrive outside of the Washington offense and stay free from injury."
Penix ended his six-year college career on a high note in 2023, finishing as the Heisman Trophy runner-up to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. Penix led the nation with 4,903 passing yards as he completed 363-of-555 pass attempts, good for a 65.4% completion percentage. He ranked third nationally with 36 touchdown passes to go along with 11 interceptions.
Under coach Kalen DeBoer, who was hired to replace Nick Saban at Alabama following the 2023 seaosn, Penix and the Huskies went 14-0 before losing to 34-13 to Michigan in the national championship game. Penix had another impressive season in 2022, leading Washington to an 11-2 record and ranking second nationally with 4,641 passing yards.
He reunited with DeBoer at Washington in 2022 as a transfer from Indiana, where he played four seasons under coach Tom Allen. DeBoer was the offensive coordinator on Allen's staff in 2019, when Indiana went 8-5, its most wins since 1993. Penix had another successful season at Indiana in 2020, helping the Hoosiers go 6-2 despite DeBoer's departure for Fresno State.
Across four seasons with the Hoosiers, Penix completed 342-of-576 pass attempts for 4,197 yards, 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Penix had arguably his best game as a Hoosier in 2020 at Ohio State, when he threw for 491 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in narrow 42-35 road loss.
His talent was apparent at Indiana, but he suffered season-ending injuries all four seasons as a Hoosier, including two torn ACLs, a fractured clavicle and an AC joint separation. Those injuries limited him to just 21 games in four years.
Now with the Atlanta Falcons, he'll be throwing to Drake London and Kyle Pitts, hoping to build on a 7-10 record last season.
