Field Yates believes Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are not far apart when it comes to rankings. The ESPN insider recently ranked Nix ahead of Penix in his ranking of the top 200 draft prospects. And on the latest episode of the College GameDay Podcast, Yates explained what both bring to the table.
“I think with Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr., people are so beholden to rankings,” Yates said. “Hey you got this guy four, this guy five, this guy 16, this guy 19 on the big board. That must mean that 19 is decidedly worse than 16. The answer is of course no, and in a lot of cases, it’s because of the style of player you’re looking for. Bo and Michael Penix Jr. could not have played more decidedly different forms of a game.”
Bo Nix is more athletic than Michael Penix Jr.
Yates went on to share his analysis of Nix who completed 77.5 percent of his passes in 2023. Nix got the ball out quickly but didn’t throw the ball downfield as much as some of the top quarterbacks in college football.
“He’s a good athlete,” Yates explained. “20 rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons for Bo Nix, so still an effective runner, but the arm strength is not going to match Michael Penix Jr.”
For Penix, Yates is impressed with his arm, but he is not the same athlete as Nix. “I would say a less proficient runner than Bo Nix, the kind of guy who can navigate the pocket pretty darn well,” Yates said while adding that Penix can “throw it to any inch of the field.”
But Yates also mentioned the injuries Penix dealt with during his college career. “When you’ve got four season-ending injuries on your resume and those are the first four years of his career, some teams will say we’re okay with it, we feel good about the fact he’s been healthy for two full seasons in a row at Washington. Others will say we are just too wary of the possibility of one more injury being critically harmful to his pro career that we’re not as comfortable with it that high in the draft.”
Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are ranked next to each other
In Yates’ latest rankings, he has Nix at No. 36 and Penix at No. 37. both players will likely be selected early in the second round if they don’t make their way in the first round of the draft.
Nix spent the first part of his college career at Auburn before transferring to Oregon. The 24-year-old was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 after throwing for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns.
Penix began his college career at Indiana before landing at Washington. In 2023, the 23-year-old won the Maxwell Award and was named a first-team All-American after throwing for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns.
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