A Fifth Quarterback Quietly Could Be Climbing up the Draft Board
Josh Frey
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Throughout this spring, much of the focus on the 2024 NFL Draft class has revolved around the quarterback position.
Specifically, there have been four quarterbacks who are becoming consensus top 10 picks: Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and J.J. McCarthy. However, a fifth quarterback quietly could be climbing into this discussion. That quarterback is Michael Penix.
A Fifth Quarterback Could Be Climbing Draft Boards
Penix began his collegiate career at Indiana, but injuries quickly derailed his time with the Hoosiers. He suffered a pair of ACL tears or season-ending shoulder injuries in each season with the Hoosiers. Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, he opted to transfer to Washington to try and rejuvenate his football career.
The QB reunited with head coach Kalen DeBoer in the Huskies program, who was his offensive coordinator at Indiana back in 2019. Penix went on to throw for over 9000 yards and 67 TDs over his two seasons at Washington and led the program to the National Championship Game in 2023.
Still, the lengthy injury history was viewed as “red flag” on Penix’s draft stock. Multiple knee and shoulder injuries are never a good sign for a QB, particularly one who is being selected with a first-round pick.
Over the past month, those concerns may have been placed on the backburner, though. Penix received great news at the scouting combine when his medical evaluations reportedly came back clean. After two healthy seasons at Washington and this recent evaluation, perhaps the quarterback has left his injuries in the rearview mirror.
On Thursday morning, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said that he believes Penix is “very likely” to become a first-round pick and could even be selected in the “first half of the first round.”
This comes after Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report reported earlier in the week that Penix met with the New York Giants in Seattle, held a private workout for the Vikings, and has top 30 visits scheduled with the Broncos, Falcons, Raiders, and Commanders.
All six of these teams hold picks in the top half of the first round, and outside of the Falcons and potentially the Giants, will all feature new starting QBs during the 2024 season.
Overall, the “big four” of quarterbacks in the first round very quickly could turn into a “big five” before the draft begins in three weeks.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Sports Reference CFB.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.