Looking at the best quarterbacks in this years draft where does Michael Penix Jr. land? Which teams should want his talents? How does he compare to other quarterbacks in his class?

Michael Penix Jr. was the quarterback that led the Washington Huskies to the College Football National Championship. After an impressing senior season this past year he became a Heisman finalist and a projected first round pick.

The 2024 NFL draft is projected to have five quarterbacks taken in the first round those being Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. , But what order will these quarterbacks be selected and by who. It seems to be clear that the Chicago Bears will select Caleb Williams out of USC with the first pick and Jayden Daniels out of LSU and Drake Maye out of North Carolina going at two or three. That leaves J.J McCarthy and Michael Penix. By popular belief J.J McCarthy will be the fourth quarterback taken in the first round leaving Michael Penix Jr. to be the fifth.

Personally I believe Michael Penix Jr. to be the second best quarterback in the draft. What hurts his draft stock unfortunately is his injury history. Having torn his ACL two times in his collegiate career the risk of a third injury is a common fear. Now looking at the positives of Penix’s game. Pocket awareness, for a player that has an injury history of torn ACLs this is a huge positive to have. Penix was only sacked 11 times in the 15 games he played last season. This is a major positive for Penix and his o-line for the huskies as they were a heavy passing offense. With a great pocket awareness Penix has one of if not the best deep balls. His arm strength may not be the best in this years draft but his accuracy is as good as anyone else. Having this talent is very rare to find in the draft and is definitely something that sets him apart from the other four quarterbacks projected to be selected before him. Having a receiver like Rome Odunze who was great in deep ball situation really showcased how good Penix’s accuracy was in those situations. Having these two strong parts of his game definitely should give teams faith in his transition from college to the NFL .

Comparing Michael Penix Jr. to players in his position in the NFL I find his skillsets to be similar to Russel Wilson. As I mentioned before their biggest similarity is their ability to throw the ball deep accurately. I don’t think that Penix will have the same impact Wilson had on the ground but with the talent Penix has throwing the ball, his pocket awareness, and his experience playing the position I see many similarities between them. Penix doesn’t need to use his legs to be a good player in the NFL and he’s not unathletic either but if he can use his athleticism in a similar way Wilson does to buy a few extra seconds for his receivers to get open Penix will be a great player to watch in the NFL for a long time and he should be able to succeed.

With Penix’s talents and with where other quarterbacks get selected here are three teams that I believe Penix will have the most success with.¹²³

1. Minnesota Vikings
   
   For the past six seasons the Vikings have had a good quarterback in Kirk Cousins. Looking at Cousins departcher from the Vikings this offseason and the way the offense runs under head coach Kevin O’Connell Penix should definately be on their radar with their two picks in the first round (11, 23). For the past two seasons under Kevin O’Connell the vikings have been a heavy passing team and need someone to fill that role. Penix this past year threw for almost 5,000 yards and over 30 touchdowns. Penix fits this scheme perfectly and I beleive he would have a great career in Minnesota with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J Hockenson to throw to. While Minnesota isn’t the biggest market and may not be the ideal place the offense constructed and a great young head coach is a very ideal for a rookie quarterback to succeed and match Penix’s talents.
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2. Denver Broncos
   
   Denver doesn’t have the offensive talent that the Viking have but they do need a quarterback after the despatcher of Russel Wilson. A positive to this is that Penix will be coached by Sean Payton. For most of Paytons head coaching career his quarterback was Drew Brees. If I were Sean Payton looking to add a quarterback in this draft at their current position at 12 who better than Penix. I say this because of the similarities Penix has to Brees and Wilson. Like Brees Penix won’t wow you with his arm strength but he can get his receivers the ball accurately. Now Sean Payton may not want to develop a young quarterback but Penix with the experience he’s had in his college career and the production he had in his last season with the Huskies he may not need as much development as other quarterbacks in this draft.
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3. Las Vegas Raiders
   
   After the addition Gardner Minshew this offseason this seems like the least likely position for Penix to be drafted out of these two teams but I don’t think the Raiders should count Penix out. After the loss of Josh Jacobs this offseason the Raiders seem to be leaning more on trying to give their receivers the ball more. Why wouldn’t you when you have Davante Adams on your team. While The raiders don’t have the elite deep threat like other teams have they have Adams who do just about anything and catch any ball thrown at him. With Adams, a decent o-line, a solid defense, and a good culture Penix should be able to fit well with this team and succeed. ↩︎