Falcons OC Zac Robinson Offers Tremendous Praise for QB Michael Penix Jr.

Zac Robinson is only 38 years old. But the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator has been around the NFL for a decade and a half. When he states that someone has an elite trait, that should mean something.

On Monday, Robinson told reporters that he hasn't "been around" a quarterback who has a quicker release than Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

"It's a trait that, really, you look at the best QBs around the league, they all have different angles. They can drop it down. If you need to go up and over the top of the defender, got to be able to do that," Robinson told the media. "Mike has as quick a release as I've ever been around in terms of how quickly the ball comes out of his hand.

"The way that he's able to get it out of his hand to the receiver, how quickly it happens is pretty special."

Zac Robinson Praises Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. for Quick Release

Penix has received a lot of complimentary words from various people around the NFL this offseason. Maybe most notably, three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, who raved about Penix during an interview in July.

Add Robinson's praise to the very notably category for Penix.

"Yeah, you’ve got to be able to change your arm angles based on whether it's a defender at the first level of the defense and you've got to throw around guys, or just being able to layer different throws at the second level, intermediate level. But he definitely has all those," Robinson said of Penix.”

Robinson has only coached with the Los Angeles Rams and Falcons in his NFL career. But as a seventh-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Robinson spent time during his playing career with the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals.

Quarterbacks I've "been around" is a loose term. It's possible Robinson meant quarterbacks he's coach, which include stars such as Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff.

But if Robinson was also comparing Penix to quarterbacks he was "around" in practice as a player, the list would also include Matt Hasselbeck, Andy Dalton and some guy named Tom Brady.

Robinson added that the creativity Penix has with his release at times is something the Falcons coaching staff liked about him during the 2024 draft process.

"I know he hasn't played a ton, so maybe there's not a ton of exposure for him to see that," Robinson said. "That was all over the tape at Washington, something that we liked about him.

"But, he continues to develop, and I'm sure three years from now, he'll even have more throws in his bank, just like all those great players do.”

Penix won't get an opportunity to showcase his quick release again in a game this preseason. But he's set to enter the regular season as the Falcons starting quarterback.