Falcons Receive Encouraging Michael Penix Jr. News

Michael Penix Jr. showed flashes last season, but it’s tough to gauge the future success of a quarterback after just three starts. Even though he finished strong with his first career 300-yard performance, it’s just too small of a sample size to judge at this point.

On Monday, The Athletic released their 2025 quarterback tier list, which was voted on by 50 coaches and executives. Michael Penix Jr. made his debut on the list at No. 28, firmly positioned in Tier 4.

He finished just between Jets QB Justin Fields and Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy. That makes perfect sense, as The Athletic‘s Mike Sando explained that he used the following criteria for Tier 4 quarterbacks:

“A Tier 4 quarterback could be an unproven player (not enough information for voters to classify) or a veteran who ideally would not start all 17 games.”

Michael Penix Jr. is an unproven player heading into 2025. But, if he can continue his improvement, Atlanta could see more of the quarterback that led them to 32 points per game across his three starts.

Even though it’s not exactly a fair comparison, the Falcons scored just under 21 points per game across Kirk Cousins‘ 14 starts. That’s a tantalizing level of improvement, especially with Michael Penix Jr. taking a full offseason of first-team reps.

Michael Penix Jr.’s Decision-Making Separates Him From Rest of the Pack

Michael Penix Jr. only played 230 snaps last season. But, he showed glimpses of a quarterback who can be trusted to make the right throw and win games with his arm. It’s been a while since you could say that about a Falcons quarterback.

Since Matt Ryan’s time in Atlanta ended in 2022, the Falcons have been looking to replace their all-time leader in just about every passing category. Unfortunately, they’ve been stuck with Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. No offense to any of those three, but those are not exactly sought-after starting quarterbacks.

So, it makes some sense that they decided to double-down at quarterback last offseason. After signing Cousins in March, Atlanta brought in their quarterback of the future at No. 8 overall with Michael Penix Jr.

While he saw limited action last season, the 2023 Heisman runner-up made enough of an impression on one offensive coach that he considered moving Penix up to Tier 3.

“I would make him a 3 because, small sample size, but I thought the guy played really well in that two-minute drill against Washington,” an offensive coach said. “How you play in two-minute is the X-factor for quarterbacks in the NFL. For a young guy, he went in there, and he was slinging it. I think you can win with him and a healthy run game.”

Speaking of a healthy run game, the Falcons boast one of the league’s best running back units, grabbing the No. 3 spot in PFF’s rankings back in June. The combination of budding superstar Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier should make life easier for Michael Penix Jr., especially after a full offseason together.

Falcons Hoping Penix Can Be QB of the Future

The Falcons have spent a significant amount of draft capital building their offense of the future in recent years. Last year, their previous two first-round picks, Drake London and Bijan Robinson, both looked like breakout stars. But, most importantly, they looked even better with Michael Penix Jr. under center.

London blew his career-highs out of the water in 2024, jumping near the top of the league in every major category. He finished ninth in receptions (100), fourth in yards (1,271) and tied for ninth in touchdowns (9).

Across the final three games of the season, Michael Penix Jr. connected with London 22 times for 352 yards and two touchdowns. London surpassed 100 yards three times last season. Two of those came in the final two weeks of the season with Penix at the helm.

He finished as strong as any receiver in the league with an explosive 187-yard, two touchdown performance to cap the season against the Panthers.

As for Robinson, he looked as explosive as any young back in the league pretty much all season. He overcame a three-game stretch early in the year where he logged just 35 total carries for 120 yards and one touchdown.

During his three-game stretch with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, Robinson excelled on the ground. He increased his workload from an average of about 18 carries per game to over 22.

Robinson ran for a career-high 170 yards to finish the season against the Panthers and scored six of his 14 rushing touchdowns playing behind Penix. In all, the second-year star carried the ball 67 times for 354 yards and six touchdowns, helping lead the offense to 32 points per game.

If Michael Penix Jr. can jell with the Falcons’ other young weapons, this offense should take off in 2025.