Michael Penix

Overview
Penix will be a 24-year-old rookie with a history of season-ending injuries at Indiana and impressive production while at Washington. The Huskies’ offensive design helped declutter coverages for Penix, allowing him to throw a higher number of intermediate and deep passes. He plays with smart pocket mobility and a willingness to get rid of the football, which makes it difficult to sack him. His delivery is bundled and his release point is very low, but his monster game against Texas showed flashes of impeccable touch. Penix has plenty of arm but needs to work with more consistent timing between the numbers to eliminate unnecessary contested throws. He’s a pocket passer who was ineffective in 2023 when defenses were able to crank up the heat and make him move his feet. Playing in a shotgun-based spread attack might give him his best chance to succeed, but he needs to prove he can thrive outside of the Washington offense and stay free from injury.

Strengths
Possesses enormous hands to control the football.
Sees pressure creeping up pre-snap and gets himself protected.
Makes sudden transition from his drop to his release.
Slides from pressure and resets to find his platform.
Wrist flick sends it 50-plus yards without much effort.
Has ability to make drive throws with added velocity when needed.
Fearless attacking far-sideline buckets between corner and safety.
Sacked just 31 times over 1,759 career dropbacks, per PFF.

IWeaknesses
Suffered multiple season-ending injuries during his time at Indiana, including tearing his right ACL twice.
Posted 20 TDs and 9 INTs over his final 11 games of the 2023 season.
Forces receivers to break stride on a variety of throws.
Throws with wide-open front side when feet fail to follow his eyes.
Heavily reliant upon receiving talent winning jump balls.
Production/consistency plummet when forced to throw outside the pocket.