Michael Penix Jr. has gone from the question mark of the 2024 quarterback class to one of its loudest success stories.
That’s a big swing for a player the Falcons took with the eighth pick, especially when the early conversation around this draft class was built around other names. Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Bo Nix all hit the ground running and gave the 2024 group the look of a quarterback gold mine. Penix, by contrast, spent the first two seasons of his career and 12 starts looking like the outlier.
Now the story is changing.
In Year 3, Penix is operating under a new regime that is leaning into what he does best, and Atlanta is seeing the payoff. Through his three starts in 2026, the Falcons are averaging more than 34 points per game, and Penix is starting to look like the franchise quarterback the team hoped it had drafted.
According to Nick Penticoff, here is where the 26-year-old ranks in the following QB statistics:
The numbers are giving Penix real momentum, but the bigger point is what his rise means for the class around him. This was already a loaded quarterback group.
Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year and took the Commanders to the NFC Championship as a rookie. Maye finished as MVP runner-up and helped push New England to the Super Bowl.
Williams is driving a high-octane Bears offense, and Nix helped take Denver to the Super Bowl.
That’s a heavy standard to break into, which is why Penix’s surge stands out. If four quarterbacks from the class were already flashing, now it’s five, and that only makes the 2024 draft look stronger.
One number jumps off the page. Per Pro Football Focus, Penix’s 99.5 grade on deep passes is the best among quarterbacks.
Better than Patrick Mahomes. Better than Josh Allen.
Everyone knew he had a big arm, but the way he has used it to open up Atlanta’s offense has caught attention.
At the same time, this is still a small sample. Three starts in 2026 is not enough to erase the concerns that came before, and Penix still has red flags in his game that need to be cleaned up. Nobody is rushing to stamp him as a finished product or an automatic All-Pro.
Still, Atlanta has to like what it sees. The Falcons are no longer staring at another round of quarterback uncertainty, and Penix’s play has already changed the way the team has to think about its 2027 draft plans. That matters even more with two years left on his rookie deal.
Terry Fontenot took a gamble when he drafted Penix, and that bet is starting to pay off. If this stretch holds, Penix won’t just be a footnote in a strong quarterback class. He’ll be right there with the rest of the group, and the Falcons may finally have their answer under center.
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