New: Be a GM College lets you run your NIL budget, fight the portal, and play the season. Try it. →
PlayerMichael Penix Jr. · QB, Atlanta Falcons, Model Score 79.9Be the Falcons GM

Michael Penix Jr.

Atlanta Falcons·#9
Pos QBHt 6'3"Wt 220 lbExp 2 yrCollege Washington
Updated October 12, 2026
Compare Michael Penix Jr. QB rankings →

Model Score

79.9 MODEL
2025
80.5
2026
79.9

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

STM Take

Penix finished STTM #32 tier 8 in 2025 across 9 games as Atlanta moved him into the starting role behind Kirk Cousins. Career sample is still 381 NFL attempts on a 59.6 percent completion rate, which is the floor profile of a developmental year-two starter. The college resume (Maxwell, Heisman runner-up, title game) is the case; the NFL data does not yet validate it.

Penix was born in Cookeville, Tennessee and raised in Dade City, Florida, attending Tampa Bay Tech. He spent four injury-shortened years at Indiana (two ACL tears) before transferring to Washington, where he won the 2023 Maxwell Award, led the NCAA in passing yards, finished second in the Heisman, and reached the 2024 CFP National Championship Game. Atlanta took him eighth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he is one of only three left-handed quarterbacks currently in the NFL.

Strengths

  • Won the Maxwell Award, led the NCAA in passing yards, and finished second in the Heisman in 2023; the college ceiling is real.
  • Left-handed quarterback (one of three in the NFL) gives defenses a non-standard look they have to scheme for.

Concerns

  • 59.6 percent completion percentage on 381 NFL attempts is below every other top-30 ranked QB at the same age.
  • Two college ACL tears already on the injury card; durability is the lingering question even before the NFL workload accumulates.

What to watch: Whether year three produces a tier-5-or-better finish; the Falcons committed a top-10 pick on the bet that he is the QB1.

Comps

Overall match
size, testing and production, same career stage
Patrick Ramsey ’0385%Trevor Siemian ’1682%Mac Jones ’2182%
Famous comp
names you know, same point in their careers (second years)
Baker Mayfield ’1989%Mark Sanchez ’1086%Jeff George ’9183%
Plays like
on-field production only
Trevor Lawrence ’2489%Baker Mayfield ’1989%Trevor Siemian ’1688%
Built likeTHIN DATA
measurables only, his size
Skylar Thompson99%Ronald Curry98%Mac Jones98%
Coming out
pros whose college production, size and testing looked like his
Will Grier ’1976%Matt Barkley ’1370%Brandon Weeden ’1270%

Names you know nearby: Derek Carr ’14 67%.

Of his 20 closest coming out: 3 stars, 2 starters, 10 backups, 5 didn't stick.

Michael Penix Jr. Injury StatusNot listed

Michael Penix Jr. is not on the injury report as of Oct 11. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.

Michael Penix Jr. Stats This Season · 2 games

479
Pass Yds
2
Pass TD
1
INT
73.3%
Comp %
-4
Rush Yds
0
Rush TD
12.4
Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

20.2
Total EPA
0.429
EPA / dropback
2.42s
Time to throw
6.8
Avg air yards
2.0%
Aggressiveness
44 yd
Longest comp (air)

Draft & College

Round 1, pick 8 · Atlanta Falcons · 2024
Washington (Pac-12)
Taken
#8
where he actually went
Consensus board
34th
average of the public big boards that spring
Our college model
#9
among QB in our college data

He went well ahead of consensus.

In college · 2019-2023 · 45 games
13,270 pass yds, 100 TD, 22 INT, 62.0% completions

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

Michael Penix Jr. Fantasy Outlook

Michael Penix Jr. scored 25 PPR points, 12.4 per game this season. Compare him against any QB and track weekly rankings in our fantasy tools.

Related Tools & Pages