Michael Penix Jr. reportedly left Indianapolis as 'winner' of combine

Unlike USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels signal-caller Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers, Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. opted to throw during NFL scouting combine workouts recently held in Indianapolis. 

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared in an article published on Monday morning that what he "kept getting back from the evaluators that were inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday" was that Penix "was probably the winner among the quarterbacks" at the combine. 

"The throwing session is tailor-made for Penix, and the Washington star didn’t disappoint," Breer said. "'Penix stood out from the group,' texted an NFC exec. 'Easy, natural thrower. Smooth and the ball comes off his hand explosively, but it’s catchable. And he was accurate in that setting.' So now it’s on to digging through the medicals, which will be a swing factor for a lot of teams."

Penix did his best while speaking with reporters on Friday to silence chatter about his concerning injury history. While he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament twice and suffered injuries to both shoulders across four seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, he didn’t miss a game with Washington over the last two campaigns. 

In a mock draft updated last week, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports predicted that the Pittsburgh Steelers will select Penix at overall pick No. 20. However, CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso did not have Penix as a first-round choice as of Feb. 28. 

Many expect Williams, Maye and Daniels will be the draft's top three picks.

It was suggested throughout last week that J.J. McCarthy of the Michigan Wolverines would see his draft stock rise following the combine. In a mock draft published on Monday morning, Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus predicted the Atlanta Falcons will trade back into the first round to draft McCarthy at pick No. 30. 

"A couple misfires went viral on social media, but overall, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy’s momentum coming into Indianapolis carried through," Breer wrote. "'I thought he was next [after Penix],' said another NFC exec. 'He missed a couple to his left. But he was pretty good, confident, delivered it well. The fact that he’s almost 220 helps too.' The workout also confirmed McCarthy’s got plenty of arm strength. 'It’s good,' said the exec. 'Not really good or great.'"

Penix has until April 25 to convince just one team he's worth a first-round selection and the fifth-year option that comes attached to that asset.