Falcons might have a Michael Penix Jr. problem

Staff Writer
Falcons might have a Michael Penix Jr. problem image

The Atlanta Falcons took a swing. They had just signed Kirk Cousins earlier in the 2024 offseason, but with the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL Draft, they chose another quarterback, Michael Penix Jr.

They may have whiffed.

That's the premise explored by ESPN's Ben Solak in a new article on Tuesday, and it's not a lot of positive.

Solak acknowledges the importance of a QB on a rookie-scale contract. It's a tried-and-true roster construction in the NFL, if the quarterback can play.

Penix has struggled to prove that he's reliable, though.

"Penix simply hasn't looked like an eighth overall pick," Solak writes. "Yes, he can throw the ball with impressive velocity -- arm strength is his cardinal trait, and a player with his velocity and release speed will have a place in the NFL for a while. But he doesn't move much and is one of the league's worst quarterbacks when pressured. He doesn't make fast decisions in the pocket, either, which makes him particularly shaky against the blitz -- 27th among 33 quarterbacks this season in dropback success rate when blitzed. And to this point, he doesn't have NFL-caliber accuracy."

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Solak examined Penix in the context of 10th pick J.J. McCarthy and 12th pick Bo Nix.

That trio, relative to the top-five choices of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, hasn't looked nearly as good.

Sure, you'd expect QBs 4, 5 and 6 off the board to potentially be not as good. But were they overpays simply because they were quarterbacks?

And in Atlanta, with that recent investment of $180 million in Kirk Cousins, was it worth it?

Penix still has time. He's made 11 career starts.

But if he doesn't turn it around soon, there will start to be chatter of finding yet another quarterback, and that's not ideal at all.

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Editorial Team