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Michael Penix Jr. is one of the more interesting QB prospects in the NFL draft. The player had a terrific season at Washington, being a Heisman finalist and playing in the National Championship. He also has an age and injury risk for teams to consider when drafting him.
Penix is older than other prospects and has had a few terrible injuries to contend with. All this has him projected as a late first-round pick or a day two or even three pick. There's not much of a real consensus among analysts on where he's going to go.
Michael Penix Jr. NFL Draft Projection
if a team that is picking in the latter half of the NFL Draft needs a quarterback, and there are a couple that do, they might forego any attempt to trade up and either take one in the first round or in the second round, which is prime Michael Penix Jr. territory.
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Sportskeeda's Seven-Round Mock Draft Simulator can help determine where the player might go. In this simulation, he is ranked as the 42nd best prospect overall, a firm second-round pick. He ended up slipping to 55th overall, and the team that landed him actually traded up to get him.
The Las Vegas Raiders moved up to pick 55 and landed who they believe might be their QB of the future. It's hard to deny that this would be a great pick for them. Penix Jr. has some upside, and he could sit behind veteran Gardner Minshew for two years before he leaves in free agency.
Ironically, he went one pick right after J.J. McCarthy, another QB with the same unclear draft projection. McCarthy will likely be a first-round pick when the draft takes place, but it remains more believable that Penix Jr. goes in the second round.
How high could Michael Penix Jr. go?
Ultimately, that is just a projection, and there's no telling where Michael Penix Jr. might go. There are rumblings of J.J. McCarthy going in the top half of the first round, and that could cause a run on quarterbacks, pushing Penix Jr. into the first round.
In the first round, there are as many as 11 teams who might be interested in taking a quarterback this year or next. That means they could surprise and take a QB this year depending on how things turn out.
Penix will not go above Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels, which means he's not going in the top three. It's also difficult to imagine the New York Giants, who might take a quarterback, spending the sixth pick on him. After that, he's fair game.
The New York Jets (pick 10) need an Aaron Rodgers' successor. The Minnesota Vikings (11th) need a QB probably for this season. So do the Denver Broncos (12th), Las Vegas Raiders (13th), and even the Seattle Seahawks(16th) could consider it. That means he could go as high as top 15 if quarterbacks are in short supply by then.
