Former NFL QB gives Michael Penix Jr. a significant draft label

Coaches who previously faced Michael Penix Jr. aren't the only noteworthy members of the football community high on the Washington Huskies quarterback ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

For a piece published Wednesday, retired NFL signal-caller and current analyst David Carr of NFL Media named Penix his pick for the "most underrated" player in this year's draft class.

"Penix has proven to be one of the best downfield passers in this class," Carr explained. "He’s a natural thrower with great vision and processing skills, and he showed last season he can elevate an offense around him. Penix can do the same at the next level." 

It was thought before the scouting combine that Penix could fall to the draft's second or third round and few ranked him among the advertised top-tier players at the position. However, his draft stock has risen coming off the combine and after an impressive pro day workout. One offensive coach from an AFC team recently went so far as to name Penix the draft's No. 2 quarterback. 

USC's Caleb Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and North Carolina's Drake Maye are the signal-callers who almost certainly will be drafted before Penix on the night of April 25. Bo Nix of the Oregon Ducks may also hear his name called before Penix is chosen during the draft. 

Penix tore his right anterior cruciate ligament twice and suffered injuries to both shoulders during his college career. For a mock draft updated on Tuesday, NFL Media's Rhett Lewis wrote that "we’d be talking about Penix in the same breath as the top three QBs" if not for those injuries. 

"I get that some teams might be concerned with Penix’s injury history, but I still believe Penix’s name should be among the elite in this year’s quarterback class," Carr noted. "Instead, he’ll likely be the fifth -- maybe sixth – passer off the board at the end of this month."

Ted Nguyen of The Athletic shared this week that "some of the top private quarterback coaches in the country" agree that Penix is "an elite thrower, especially without pressure." If Carr is proven correct, multiple teams will eventually regret choosing supposed "safer" options than Penix later this month.