Michael Penix Jr. NFL Draft projection: 5 teams who can upgrade with Washington QB
Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was on the NFL Draft radar after last season, his first in Seattle after starting his career with the Indiana Hoosiers before reuniting with Kalen DeBoer. However, the lefty elected to return for the 2023 season, which proved to be a hugely important decision.
Penix put forth a masterful effort for the Huskies in his final college campaign, earning a trip to New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist but, more importantly, leading Washington to a perfect regular season, a Pac-12 championship, and a berth in the College Football Playoff. As for his future, though, Penix projects as one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.
While the Washington signal-caller won't be alongside the likes of Caleb Williams and Drake Maye at the top of draft boards, he is projected to be a late-first or early-second round pick in the 2024 draft. But which NFL teams should be looking to Michael Penix Jr. as their potential answer at quarterback?
These five teams would be upgrading at quarterback by drafting Penix.
Michael Penix Jr. draft projection: 5 teams that could upgrade with QB
5. New England Patriots
Let me reiterate: Penix isn't going to be one of the top picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Thus, the New England Patriots aren't going to be selecting him with a Top 5 pick. That would be a tremendous reach, even for how damn good the Huskies quarterback has been.
Having said that, the Patriots currently have the No. 3 overall pick entering Week 18 of the NFL season. Subsequently, there's a good chance that both Williams and Maye are off of the board when New England comes on the clock in late April. So would the Pats then reach for the QB3 in the draft class or take an elite prospect like Marvin Harrison Jr., Olu Fashanu or otherwise? The safe bet would be on the latter scenario.
That would still leave New England with a dire need to replace Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe at QB, however. But picking early in the second round, the door would be open to either wait for Penix at the start of Day 2 or trade into the back end of the first round to select him. In doing so, the Patriots would get a fresh reset at the position with a player who could very well be their offensive future.
Penix Jr. could be the prize of next year's NFL Draft and you still have one more chance to cash in on him as a college quarterback! All you have to do is sign up with FanDuel and DraftKings, deposit $10 or more and then bet $5 or more on Washington vs. Michigan. You'll win $300 in bonus bets, win or lose! Sign up with FanDuel and DraftKings today.