University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is one of the more interesting prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
In any other year, he would probably be considered one of the top two or three signal-callers, but in an incredibly deep 2024 draft class, Penix is the fifth or sixth-ranked quarterback on many draft boards.
Still, Penix is highly regarded.
Brett Whitefield of Fantasy Points actually has a very intriguing comparison for Penix: Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
It may seem like a rather strange comparison on the surface, but it actually does make sense.
Goff was the No. 1 overall pick back in 2016 due to his fundamentals as a quarterback. He wasn’t the most mobile or athletic guy, and he wasn’t very flashy.
The same can be said for Penix.
Penix is coming off of a fantastic 2023 campaign in which he threw for 4,903 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 65.4 percent of his passes.
However, like Goff, Penix isn’t much of a runner, as he amassed a grand total of eight rushing yards on the season.
But, in spite of not really being a dual threat, which is so heavily valued in today’s game, Penix still managed to take Washington all the way to the national championship game, where it fell to Michigan.
And perhaps Penix will display some more athleticism on the NFL level? After all, he reportedly ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, which is very surprising given his rushing numbers in college.
Penix is typically ranked behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy on the list of quarterbacks heading into this year’s draft. Some also place Oregon’s Bo Nix in front of him.
But there are others who feel that Penix could end up being one of the best of the bunch.
We’ll see where Michael Penix Jr. ends up landing on Thursday.
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