Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. Ranked Behind Almost Every 2024 First-Round QB

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. appeared to land in the appropriately-named tier on Pro Football Focus' rankings of the 32 starting signal-callers in the NFL on Tuesday. But Falcons fans may find issue with the quarterbacks Penix is behind on the list.

Kosko ranked Penix at No. 23 on his quarterback rankings entering 2025 offseason workouts. At that ranking, Penix was behind every other first-round signal-caller from 2024 except Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.

"Penix’s NFL sample size is small but promising. Across 114 dropbacks, he earned an 87.9 overall grade — a number inflated by a dominant Week 18 performance that included seven big-time throws and a 95.6 game grade," Kosko wrote. "He’s clearly capable of that level of play, but the week prior told a different story, as he struggled with accuracy and finished with a 54.3 passing grade.

"Accuracy and performance under pressure were question marks coming out of college. If he can improve in those areas, his ranking will rise in a hurry."

As one could have guessed, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was the highest-rated 2024 first-round signal-caller on Kosko's list. Then, there was a big gap, with Denver Broncos' Bo Nix next at No. 19.

Minnesota Vikings' J.J. McCarthy and New England Patriots' Drake Maye were both ahead of Penix but barely. McCarthy, Maye, Penix and Williams were ranked No. 21-24 on the list.

Kosko argued McCarthy is set up to succeed in Minnesota's offense. It's hard to disagree. Still, Falcons fans are likely to be disappointed that Penix appeared to be dinged for a small sample when McCarthy didn't play at all as a rookie.

Every single 2024 first-round quarterback, though, except Daniels, was in Kosko's fourth quarterback tier, which he called "young players with a wide range of potential outcomes."

Penix, Williams and Tennessee Titans rookie Cam Ward brought up the rear in the tier.

Interestingly, though, Kosko ranked all of those second-year quarterbacks and Ward ahead of Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

Joe Flacco, Anthony Richardson, Mason Rudolph and Tyler Shough sat at the very bottom of the list.