Falcons Picked Michael Penix Jr. for Parallels to Super Bowl QB, Says Ex-WR

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has most often been compared to Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa during the early part of his NFL career. That's one of the easier comparisons to make because Tagovailoa is also left handed.

But on Thursday, former Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas stated on ESPN's "Get Up" that Penix reminded the Falcons coaching staff of a right-handed quarterback they previously worked with -- Matthew Stafford.

"I love Michael Penix Jr. He's a guy that can beat you at all three levels -- short, intermediate, deep," Douglas said. "I think one of the things that alerted this coaching staff to draft him is that he kind of reminded them of Matthew Stafford. This coaching staff came from the Los Angeles Rams.

"Being able to throw the football outside the numbers and be a sharp shooter in that capacity. He's cool, calmed and collected, and he has this entire offseason to be able to be the No. 1 guy and build that rapport with Drake London and also Darnell Mooney.

"If they can get Kyle Pitts to come on board, this is going to be a scary football team for 2025."

To be clear, Douglas isn't necessarily saying Penix is the next Stafford, but that Penix has a similar playing style to the Pro Bowl quarterback.

At 108-113-1, Stafford has posted a losing record in his NFL career. Most would probably argue, though, that the Detroit Lions, where Stafford played for the first 12 years of his career, are more to blame for that record than the quarterback.

With the Rams, Stafford has a 34-23 record. During his first season in Los Angeles, Stafford led the Rams to a 12-5 record and Super Bowl victory. Stafford made the Pro Bowl with the Rams as well during the 2023 campaign.

In 2021, Stafford threw for 4,886 passing yards with 41 touchdowns. The Falcons would love to get that kind of production from Penix. But the hope also is he takes care of the ball better than Stafford.

The Rams quarterback threw a league-high 17 interceptions in 2021. Los Angeles overcame two Stafford interceptions in the Super Bowl to beat the Cincinnati Bengals.

During his final college season at Washington, Penix led the country with 4,903 passing yards and posted 36 touchdowns. But he also had 11 interceptions.

In three starts to end last season, Penix averaged 245.7 passing yards per game with three touchdowns and three interceptions. However, most pundits argued the Falcons pass catchers were more to blame for at least a couple of Penix's interceptions last season than the young signal-caller.