Michael Penix Jr. has already gotten a close-up look at the Falcons’ new pass-catching pieces, and he’s not shy about what he sees.
Atlanta spent the offseason trying to inject more speed and depth into a receiver group that needed it. General manager Ian Cunningham added Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus in free agency, then used a third-round pick on Zachariah Branch out of Georgia. For a quarterback like Penix, that kind of upgrade matters.
Branch, in particular, has jumped off the field. Penix said the rookie’s game is translating quickly from college to the NFL.
"He's going to be a really good football player in the NFL," Penix said of Branch with a grin when asked about the explosive rookie. "Obviously, you already know what he's done in college in his past, but it's definitely carrying over. He can play football.”
That wasn’t just a polite nod from the veteran quarterback. Penix and Branch connected multiple times during OTAs and minicamp, then hit again on the first day of training camp for a long touchdown.
Branch is battling Zaccheaus for work as the main slot receiver, while Dotson looks like the leading candidate to line up outside across from Drake London. The Falcons are also adding more burst in the backfield with Brian Robinson Jr., who Penix expects to be part of the mix alongside Bijan Robinson.
Penix pointed to both Robinson and Dotson when asked who might end up surprising Falcons fans this season.
“I would say definitely Brian Robinson coming in," answered Penix. "Obviously, we have Bijan [Robinson] but at the same time, he'll be in rotation.
He's definitely going to make some big-time plays. He looks really good, really healthy.
He's going to be really good.
"I'm excited to see Jahan [Dotson], too. Jahan, it's up in the air.
Nobody really knows what that ‘X’ position is going to look like, but he's been really great. He's been very consistent throughout this all season, so I'm super excited to see him this year, too.”
Penix himself is still working back from a surgically repaired ACL and has not been fully cleared for training camp. Even so, he’s been around plenty. Since OTAs in June, he has taken part in nearly everything except 11v11 work, and on Wednesday he again did all but that portion on the first day of camp.
That has given him time to build timing with the new arrivals before he’s fully unleashed.
"We've been building that all season," Penix said. "Me and Tua both, we throw with the receivers in the offseason as well too.
So that's nothing. That all comes whenever we get back on the field.
Obviously, we do a lot of routes on air and stuff too so that we can get that timing down. It's just football.”
For now, the Falcons are waiting on the final step of Penix’s recovery. He’s on track, but the real comfort will come once he’s officially cleared and back in full action.
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Michael Penix Jr. is headed into training camp with his timeline still lagging behind the rest of the Falcons quarterback room, a frustrating reality for a player trying to establish himself after another major knee setback. Penix said his latest ACL issue is the third of his career in seven years, and the team is already bracing for him to miss the kind of full-speed work that usually matters most when jobs are being sorted out in camp.
Kevin Stefanski confirmed Penix will not be ready when camp opens, which leaves Atlanta in a familiar but uncomfortable spot at the most important position on the field. With Penix unable to take part in full contact right away, the Falcons are trending toward starting the season with Tua Tagovailoa under center, and the longer this delay runs, the harder it becomes for Penix to force his way into the picture early. [Read more 🡒]
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Atlanta has already moved to patch things together by releasing Trevor Siemian because of a non-football injury and bringing in Cooper Rush, while undrafted Jack Strand has been taking first-team snaps. For a team that expected camp to be about sorting out roles, the bigger question now is simply how long it can keep the offense moving before the quarterback picture settles down. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Rookie Absence Just Opened A Door Fans Werent Expecting
The Falcons defensive tackle picture got a little more interesting this spring when the team added undrafted rookie Carlos Allen Jr. and then watched a separate rookie, sixth-round pick Anterio Thompson, get slowed before camp even really began. Thompsons absence during rookie minicamp and OTAs has already changed the way the interior line reps are being distributed, and it has created a cleaner opening for a player who arrived without draft-day fanfare but with a chance to make noise.
Allen Jr. now heads into training camp with a real opportunity to press for a roster spot, which is more than most undrafted linemen can say at this stage. Atlanta already has bodies in the defensive tackle rotation, but the combination of Thompsons delay and Allen Jr.s production in college gives the Falcons another name to watch as they sort out who can help them up front. [Read more 🡒]