HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 216

HAND: 10⅜"

ARM: 33⅝"

WINGSPAN: 81"

40-YARD DASH:

3-CONE:

SHUTTLE:

VERTICAL:

BROAD:

POSITIVES

— Great arm strength. Drives the ball on a line with velocity, both down the field and into tight windows.

— Good deep-ball accuracy. Consistently drops it in the bucket or, at worst, presents a winnable jump-ball situation.

— Aggressive mentality. Willing to attack tight windows and give his players chances in the air.

— Shows the ability to progress across the field and handle real NFL concepts.

— Functional athleticism. Can tuck it and run for efficient gains from time to time.

NEGATIVES

— One-speed thrower. Can only throw line drives. Struggles to add arc and touch to the ball.

— Below-average accuracy to the intermediate area. Lack of touch hurts him.

— Poor responses to pressure. Often struggles to throw with bodies around him in the pocket.

— Flashes NFL progression ability, but too often triggers a beat late. Will be an issue in the pros.

2023 STATISTICS

— 14 G, 336-504 (66.7%), 4,648 YDS, 9.2 Y/A, 35 TD, 9 INT, 163.5 RTG; 32 ATT, 13 YDS (0.4 AVG), 3 TD

NOTES

— Born May 8, 2000

— 3-star recruit in 2018 class, per 247Sports

— Transferred from Indiana to Washington in 2022

— 43 career starts

— Four season-ending injuries at Indiana, including two ACL tears (2018, 2020) and an AC joint separation in each shoulder (2019, 2021)

— 2022 All-America third team (Pro Football Network), 2023 All-America first team (Walter Camp), 2023 Heisman finalist

OVERALL

Michael Penix Jr. is a stationary pocket passer with a live arm and a penchant for pushing the ball down the field.

Everything with Penix's game starts and ends with arm strength. The ball explodes out of his hand. He can bomb it 60 yards down the field with the flick of the wrist, as well as attack tight windows to the intermediate range. Penix is at his most accurate down the field as well.

Penix isn't afraid to use his arm, either. He's always hunting for shots down the field and is more than willing to give his guys a chance in contested situations, a trait that served him well with Washington's exceptional ball-winners.

Penix also flashes the ability to handle pro concepts. The Washington offense threw the ball aggressively and often asked Penix to read the entire field. His timing and consistency in operating those concepts comes and goes, especially when he gets knocked off his first read, but you see promising moments of Penix working from one side to the other to make a tough throw down the field.

However, Penix is largely unproven versus pressure. Washington's offensive line kept him as clean as any quarterback in the country, but he often struggled to find ways to get the ball out when he did get pressured. Penix is not a nimble, thoughtful mover in the pocket, and his low, clunky release makes it difficult to find unique throwing angles. Penix is not an impressive creator outside the pocket at this stage, either.

Penix also has issues with accuracy, specifically adding touch to throws. Penix is a Will Levis-esque one-speed thrower. That serves him well in certain spots, but it hurts him greatly when he needs to layer throws and loft the ball over defenders.

For teams that want to chuck it down the field with a heavy dose of play action, Penix is an interesting dice roll. His live arm, aggressiveness and moments of progression passing give him a shot to stick in the NFL. With that said, Penix's lack of touch, shaky pocket management and minimal ability to create plays will limit his ceiling in the pros.

GRADE: 6.9 (Potential Role Player/Contributor - 4th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 89

POSITION RANK: QB7

PRO COMPARISON: Discount Carson Palmer

Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen

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