Michael Penix Jr.

Latest On Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

April 5th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

The runup to the 2024 NFL Draft has been a rollercoaster for Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Initially viewed in the second tier of top draft-eligible passers alongside Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Penix has dipped in and out of the first round in mock drafts over the past several weeks, while McCarthy has skyrocketed into the top tier. Now, at this point in time, OutKick’s Armando Salguero tells us that at least three teams have Penix on their board with a first-round value.

Initially, there were concerns about Penix’s history with injury issues, as detailed in his recent Prospect Profile. His four season-ending injuries in as many years at Indiana had many uneasy about his health at the next level. After getting cleared in medical evaluations, Penix will be able to get most teams to look past his injury-history, though some may still hold on to their reservations.

As for which three teams have him slotted as a first-rounder, it’s difficult to say for sure. Penix has scheduled several different “top 30” visits over the last week. He’s set to meet with the Giants, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Steelers, Vikings, and Commanders, while the Seahawks have been mentioned as a team of interest, as well. The Commanders can probably be taken out of the mix. Even if they have a first-round grade on Penix, they are seemingly set to draft one of the top-tier passers at No. 2 overall.

The Falcons are an interesting team to watch after they sent “a sizable group to Seattle to conduct a private workout with” Penix today, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. It’s hard to see them as one of the teams with a first-round grade on the 23-year-old, though, as they just signed Kirk Cousins to a big contract to start for them at quarterback.

Instead look to teams like the Raiders, who have been mocked to draft Penix on multiple occasions. Despite the team’s aggressive efforts to move into the top three draft picks, Las Vegas doesn’t seem to have the capital to make it happen. Those efforts show their desire to draft a quarterback, though, and if they’re stuck at 13th overall, they may have to settle for Penix.

With most mock drafts predicting a run of four passers in the first four picks, it only takes one or two more teams in the remaining 28 picks to pull the trigger on Penix or Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. With plenty of teams needing help at the position, Penix could join the ranks as one of up to five or six first-round quarterbacks.

Vikings, Commanders Schedule Michael Penix Meetings; Seahawks In Play For QB?

April 3rd, 2024 at 2:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not mentioned among the quarterbacks projected to land in the top five, Michael Penix Jr. still profiles as a player who could certainly go off the draft board in Round 1. A number of teams are doing their homework on the recent national championship game starter.

Penix scheduled visits with the Giants, Falcons, Broncos, Raiders and Steelers recently. The Vikings and Commanders can now be added to the Washington alum’s list. Penix worked out for the Vikings recently, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, who adds the Commanders will also host the southpaw QB on a “30” visit. Penix has begun his run of “30” meetings, stopping through Denver on Tuesday and Las Vegas today.

The Commanders should not be expected to entertain taking Penix at No. 2 overall, but Dan Quinn did not commit to the team staying in that slot. The new Washington HC only said the Commanders are likely to leave the draft with a quarterback. Still, it would be fairly surprising to see a team that just hired a new GM and HC — and one with an owner who took over less than a year ago — pass on adding an impact QB prospect without needing to trade up.

The Vikings acquiring the Texans’ No. 27 overall pick has brought consistent rumors about the team trading up. Penix, however, could be available with Minnesota’s first pick (No. 11 overall). The Vikings have never chosen a quarterback in the top 10, but since acquiring that second first-rounder, they have been consistently predicted to break that streak. It would not seem Penix would require such a move, but Minnesota is doing due diligence on a passer with an extensive injury history and a strong finish to his college career.

Transferring from Indiana, Penix dominated at Washington and piloted the Huskies to the CFP title game. Working with top-flight WR Rome Odunze, Penix posted back-to-back 4,600-yard passing seasons. Last year, he closed with 36 TD passes and averaged 8.8 yards per attempt. Two torn ACLs and two shoulder injuries have brought understandable concerns, despite Penix’s strong finish. One GM mentioned to the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora it cleared Penix medically.

While the Penix-Odunze connection proved to be one of the college game’s most dangerous in many years, the QB’s past with Ryan Grubb should also warrant close inspection. The Seahawks, who hired the former Washington OC to call plays, are again being linked to Grubb’s former pupil. Some around the league believe the NFC West team, with Penix having played in Seattle and under Grubb, could in play to land the ex-Pac-12 star at No. 16, La Canfora adds.

Closely tied to Anthony Richardson last year, the Seahawks saw the Colts select the Florida talent one spot before them. Pete Carroll said the Seahawks would have considered drafting Richardson, whom they met with last year, at No. 5. They instead kept Geno Smith as the unquestioned QB1. Thus far in Mike Macdonald‘s first weeks on the job, Smith remains unchallenged for the gig. The 33-year-old QB saw a $12.7MM chunk of his 2024 base salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in February, and Macdonald recently named the veteran his starter. But Smith’s three-year, $75MM deal is fairly Seahawks-friendly; the team could escape it easily in 2025. The Grubb-Penix connection should certainly be monitored ahead of the draft. Smith will turn 34 in October.

With J.J. McCarthy looking likely to be drafted closer to the Caleb Williams–Jayden Daniels–Drake Maye tier, Penix joins Bo Nix as the passers who could become mid- or late-first-round selections. Both Pac-12 transfers will require significant pre-draft examination, but one team will roll the dice on the Washington product with plans to become a future starter.

QB Michael Penix Jr. Schedules Five Visits

March 29th, 2024 at 6:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

With pre-draft visits in full swing, Michael Penix Jr. is one of several quarterbacks set to take a number of ‘top 30’ visits with interested teams. Details on his immediate future have emerged in the wake of his Pro Day.

Penix is set to meet with the Giants, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos and Steelers, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. New York, Las Vegas and Denver have been among the teams most closely connected with selecting a passer during next month’s draft. The inclusion of Atlanta and Pittsburgh on that list is certainly noteworthy, however.

The Falcons made perhaps the most impactful move of free agency by signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180MM deal. That move sets the team up with a proven quarterback relative to its other post-Matt Ryan options (albeit one which is aging and coming off an Achilles tear). A long-term investment in a developmental passer would be reasonable, but such a move would likely come after the Falcons’ top pick.

Atlanta is set to select eighth overall, and edge rush remains a notable roster hole at the moment. For that reason, many mocks have linked the team to Alabama’s Dallas Turner, largely regarded as the top member of the 2024 pass rush class. The Falcons’ next selection is No. 43; Penix could very well be off the board by that point, leaving them in search of another Day 2 or 3 QB option.

The Steelers have completely re-built their quarterback room, signing Russell Wilson and trading for Justin Fields. The former is set to operate as the starter for 2024, but the latter profiles as the passer with a higher upside over the long term given his age. Both Wilson and Fields are only on the books for one season (provided Fields’ fifth-year option is declined this spring), though the team is believed to have interest in retaining each of them beyond 2024.

Pittsburgh owns the No. 20 pick, which could fall within the early portion of Penix’s range (depending in large part, of course, on where the QBs rated above him are selected). Adding the 2023 Heisman runner-up would give the Steelers an intriguing third option on the depth chart but it would likely prove to be redundant in at least the short term with Wilson and Fields in the fold.

Penix profiles as a wild card in the 2024 quarterback class, having enjoyed a successful stint with Washington which was punctuated by a trip to the national title game. Concerns over his age and lengthy injury history – including two ACL tears – will hurt his draft stock compared to the passers slated to be selected in the top five, but the strong athletic performance he delivered at his Pro Day could certainly help in that regard. Ultimately, Penix’s visits will be a strong determining factor in his eventual landing spots, and several teams will remain worth monitoring as potential destinations.

Prospect Profile: Michael Penix Jr.

March 23rd, 2024 at 9:18pm CST by Ely Allen

At this point, it’s starting to become extremely clear who we should be expecting to see as the first player and quarterback taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft next month. We also know UNC quarterback Drake Maye is fighting off LSU Heisman winner Jayden Daniels as QB2 of the draft and that Michigan national champion J.J. McCarthy and Oregon’s Bo Nix are enjoying their own late surges towards the first round. One other quarterback seems to polarize more than the rest, as Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. continues to work to prove himself as a top football player.

As a three-star recruit out of Tampa Bay Tech HS (Florida), Penix struggled to stand out in the talent-laden state of Florida. He quickly picked up local offers from Group of 5 schools like USF and FAU before attending a camp at Tennessee and earning his first Power 5 offer. 10 months later, after receiving only a few other offers, Penix committed to the Volunteers. After the school’s firing of Butch Jones, the head coach to whom he had committed, Penix decommitted, taking the week before an early National Signing Day to consider his options before ultimately signing to attend Indiana.

Penix would redshirt his freshman year with the Hoosiers, appearing in only three games before tearing his ACL. After returning from his injury, Penix entered his redshirt freshman year as the starter, winning the job over incumbent quarterback Peyton Ramsey. In six starts, Penix led the Hoosiers to a 5-1 start to the season while completing 68.8 percent of his pass attempts for 1,394 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions. He also added 119 yards on the ground for two touchdowns. Unfortunately, Penix’s season ended there after a sternoclavicular joint sprain and clavicle fracture on his non-throwing, right shoulder would keep him out for the remainder of the season.

Penix would return in 2020 as the starter once again and once again lead the team to a 5-1 start. His completion percentage suffered as the team leaned more heavily on his arm, but he would increase his production to 1,645 passing yards and 14 touchdowns before suffering a second torn ACL to end his third season. In his final year as the Indiana starter, Penix looked like a shell of his former self. The Hoosiers started the season 2-3 as Penix threw for 939 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions in five starts while only completing 53.7 percent of his passes. His time in Bloomington ended, once again, with his fourth season-ending injury, this one a dislocated joint in his throwing shoulder.

Instead of laying down to watch his football career die, Penix opted to hop into the transfer portal. Thanks to his utilized redshirt and the extra year of eligibility granted to players in school during the 2020 COVID-19 impacted season, the lefty passer still had two years of eligibility left, and finally, in Seattle, Penix was offered the opportunity to play for a contender. Penix became the starter at Washington and immediately led the Huskies to a winning season following their 4-8 2021 campaign.

At Washington, Penix rediscovered his accuracy, completing just over 65 percent of his passes in both years with the team. During the team’s 2022 campaign, Penix led the country in passing yards per game en route to becoming the school’s all-time single-season passing leader with 4,641 yards while scoring 31 touchdowns through the air and four more on the ground. He followed that up with a 14-1 season that would take Washington to the National Championship game, ultimately falling to McCarthy’s Wolverines. Still, in 2023, Penix broke his own single-season record with 4,903 passing yards (thanks to two extra games) and passed for 36 touchdowns while rushing for three more. He led the FBS in passing yards, but even with his extra games, he also led the country in passing yards per game for the second season in a row.

Now, finally out of eligibility, Penix is ready to head to the NFL following a successful college career. He brings an aggressive approach to the passing game with an ability to deliver quick strikes and throw competitive balls downfield for his receivers to win. He doesn’t lack confidence, showing a willingness to make every throw at every level of the field but could still stand to improve in some of those areas, namely intermediate passes across the middle of the field. This can lead to a few missed passes and, while he did post impressive completion percentages, ranking 28th in the country at 65.4 in 2023, his fellow draft candidates, USC’s Caleb Williams (12th at 68.6), Daniels (seventh at 72.2), McCarthy (sixth at 72.3), and Nix (first at 77.4), all showed better accuracy this past year.

Other nitpicks on Penix revolve around inconsistent mechanics and an inability to sense pressure (perhaps a symptom of left-handedness in a right-hander’s game), but the biggest areas of concern surround his health. Before transferring, Penix suffered four season-ending injuries in as many years. Many placed the utmost importance on his medical evaluations at the NFL scouting combine, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network delivered the good news that his medical testing “went well,” claiming that “any medical questions that Penix had seem to be kind of pushed a little back under the radar.”

With that, let the speculation begin. The claims of Penix’s polarization come from the fact that mock drafts place him anywhere from No. 8 overall to the second and third round. Both ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Dane Brugler of The Athletic rank Penix as the draft’s sixth-best passing prospect, following the five mentioned above. Both pundits also have him slipping into the second round of the draft, with both citing injuries as a main concern. Perhaps, they believe that his combine clearance was more sweeping his injury potential under the rug than declaring it a non-issue.

Still, it only takes one front office to disagree. The consensus seems to be that Penix has first-round potential in his game, but he has to stay on the field in order to show it. If any team sees his 28 straight healthy games at Washington and feels confident about his health, or if any team feels confident in their offensive line’s ability to keep Penix on the field, there’s absolutely a possibility that we hear his name called on Day 1 of the draft, especially if we see a run on quarterbacks early. If not, there are several teams with temporary or non-cemented options at quarterback that could easily take a flyer on Penix in the second round.

The Bears, Commanders, Patriots, and Broncos have been seen as teams obviously looking to select a passer in the first round, but the Giants, Vikings, and Raiders could also be tempted. New York has never showed much commitment to Daniel Jones and could be interested in drafting his heir apparent. The Vikings brought in Sam Darnold, who has never spent a full season as a starter, so they may be interested in a young passer to mold. Las Vegas brought in Gardner Minshew to compete with Aidan O’Connell but may be interested in a passer with more potential upside. Also keep an eye on teams like the Seahawks and Rams, who have aging veterans and may want to bring in a rookie to compete with their other young, developing backups.

There’s no limit of possibilities for where we may see Penix go in late-April. He may be the league’s first left-handed quarterback taken in the first round since Tua Tagovailoa, or he could free fall into the second or third round. There are plenty more mock drafts to come between now and then around the internet, so keep an eye on the consistent rise and fall of Penix’s draft stock in the weeks between now and the draft.

Raiders Expected To Aggressively Pursue Top-Three Pick

March 5th, 2024 at 10:39pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders have been mentioned as a suitor for one of the draft’s top-three quarterbacks, and the buzz is only getting louder. The Raiders are “expected to be aggressive” in trading up from pick No. 13 in pursuit of a quarterback, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Albert Breer of SI.com passes along a similar sentiment, writing that the Raiders are among the teams inquiring “on a trade-up for a quarterback.”

The organization left no stone unturned at last week’s combine, meeting with the majority of the draft’s quarterback prospects. As Bonsignore passes along, the team interviewed a range of QBs, including top prospects like USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, and North Carolina’s Drake Maye. The team is especially enamored with Daniels, who was at Arizona State when Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was on the staff.

A trade for any of those three quarterbacks would likely require a massive haul; the Bears are reportedly seeking a historic bounty for the No. 1 selection. As a result, the Raiders may need to pivot to one of the second-tier prospects like Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr..

Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic believe one of those non-top-three QBs may be a more reasonable expectation, with the duo writing that a trade into the top-three “may be unrealistic.” Tafur and Reed also pass along that the organization has explored trades into the No. 5 to No. 7 range.

“You have to weigh how bad you want the player and how much you’re giving up,” general manager Tom Telesco said last week. “It’s just a judgment decision. Part of that is we may think we know the player is going to hit, but we really don’t. You never 100 percent know.”

While the quarterback prospects won’t have much (if any) say in their destination, it sounds like the incoming rookies were all impressed by Pierce and the organization.

“What a great job he did this past year,” Maye told Bonsignore. “So much respect for him for earning the respect of the guys.”

Caleb Williams Will Not Throw At Combine

February 25th, 2024 at 10:17pm CST by Ely Allen

The importance of the NFL Scouting Combine continues to be called into question two years after stringent COVID-19 rules nearly caused a mass boycott of the event in 2022. The topic of the boycott brought attention to how important the combine is for late-round, fringe, and small school prospects while potentially serving as a negative for some of college football’s best. Those debates may crop up again with recent news that USC quarterback Caleb Williams plans not to throw at next week’s combine, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.

To clarify, Williams still plans on attending the event in Indianapolis, according to Ian Rapoport. He’ll be available to interview with any interested teams. It’s unclear if he’ll perform in any of the other workouts of the combine, but we know for sure that he will not throw. Rapoport informs us that Williams’ plan is to wait until his pro day, where he will throw and workout for scouts.

There will be pundits chirping on both sides of the story. Some will support the decision, claiming that he has nothing to gain from throwing at the combine. He’s already expected to be selected at No. 1 overall and plans to throw on March 20 at the Trojan’s pro day. What good can be done by working out twice?

The other side will point to character issues that have persisted in the media throughout his junior year of college. Williams’ mentality and leadership took hits late in the year from the media after the quarterback refused to speak to reporters following what ended up being his final game of college football. Rapoport himself seemed to call out the 22-year-old citing Joe Burrow as an example of how a quarterback should handle his role and responsibilities. His refusal to work out among the other quarterbacks is sure to draw criticism from those who already believe that “off-field concerns” exist for the young passer.

In reality, there are advantages to working at the combine, namely the officiality of the measurements and the additional opportunity to work with NFL coaches. Sure, he will get to perform workouts at his pro day, but the results of timed exercises will be hand-timed. Also, while some coaches will choose to attend USC’s pro day, the combine serves as an additional opportunity to work with NFL staff. Some will look down on Williams’ decision to reject that opportunity.

So, yes, there are advantages, but are they minimal for someone with his current draft stock? That’s difficult to answer. We have certainly seen bad combine performances affect draft stock. Most recently, free agent tight end Isaac Nauta went from first-round prospect to seventh-round pick in 2019. Similarly, Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. fell to the third round after what is classically seen as one of the worst combine performances of all time. Still, there are examples of players like Terrell Suggs, who, despite a terrible combine performance, still turned out to be a top-10 pick.

Could Williams be the next to fall victim to the combine? Probably not. He isn’t expected to deliver anywhere near that poor of a performance and, even if he did, his current stock is simply too high to warrant a drastic fall. Still, when he’s already at the top of most prospect rankings, there’s nowhere for him to go but down. It’s hard to blame him for choosing not to take any chances heading into the 2024 NFL Draft.

His announcement has, obviously, caught headlines, though. In the time between the Schultz’s initial report and this one, both Schultz and Rapoport have reported on a number of other prospect’s intentions. So far, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix, and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy have all made it known that they intend to throw next week. Only LSU’s Jayden Daniels has joined Williams in announcing his intentions to wait until his pro day, per Rapoport. The other four passers will have the opportunity to not only work out at the combine in front of NFL coaches but also to do so in direct comparison to their competition, with the lone exceptions (so far) of Williams and Daniels.

Teams Likely To Move Up For QBs In 2024 Draft

February 10th, 2024 at 4:41pm CST by Ely Allen

For much of the 2023 football season, there was a clear 1-2 punch at the top of the list of 2024 draft eligible quarterbacks. It was also widely believed that this year’s crop would provide a good bit of depth throughout all stages of the draft. Both of those opinions appear to be up for debate now as depth issues and the projected 2025 class have teams thinking twice about how long they can wait for a young project passer this April.

The clarity at the top of the draft has been muddied a bit by the meteoric rise of LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has pushed North Carolina’s Drake Maye for the honor of QB2 behind Caleb Williams from USC. For some time, it was thought that the first-round considerations ended there, but all of the sudden, three other college passers have entered the conversation of Day 1 draft candidates.

Initially, quarterbacks like Michigan national champ J.J. McCarthy, national championship runner-up Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington, and Oregon’s Bo Nix were considered strong contributors to the depth of the draft’s quarterback class, slotting in as likely Day 2 picks. The depth behind them, though, began to slim down as fringe Day 2-3 passers saw the allure of returning to the NIL-potential of college ball and a chance to better their stock for the subsequent year’s draft.

This migration of 2024 depth pieces to the 2025 class has also done little to improve the projection of next year’s quarterback crop. It improves the depth of the 2025 quarterback class, but the group of passers in college next year remains bottom-heavy. Early class headliners like Texas passer Quinn Ewers, Georgia’s Carson Beck, and the prodigal son at Colorado, Shedeur Sanders, all give reasons to excite, but none have cemented themselves as first-rounders and, beyond them, the cupboard is quite bare for top talent.

A few veterans who once sought Day 1 acclaim have disappointed in recent years to the point where they have left for greener college pastures in an attempt to rejuvenate their potential draft status. Journeyman Dillon Gabriel, who has spent three years at UCF and two years at Oklahoma, will spend his final year of eligibility replacing Nix in Eugene. Once promising Duke passer Riley Leonard will try to replace Sam Hartman as the next leader at Notre Dame. A former freshman phenom at Miami (FL), Tyler Van Dyke will try to reestablish his passing prowess at Wisconsin. The Hurricanes will replace Van Dyke with former Washington State passer Cameron Ward, who backed off an earlier declaration for this year’s draft in order to announce his transfer to Coral Gables. After an injury-ruined 2023, Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, one of a few talented passers who returned to their college home instead of transferring, is on the shortlist of Heisman Trophy contenders after impressing in 2022.

A number of sophomore passers will hope to have breakout years that help them rise like Daniels has this offseason. Penn State’s Drew Allar has impressed early with his efficiency, throwing for 29 touchdowns to just two interceptions in his first two years, but has a tendency to disappear from a gameplan far too easily. Conner Weigman has done little to inspire much confidence in College Station, but the former five-star recruit will hope to rebound for new head coach Mike Elko. Lastly, SMU redshirt sophomore Preston Stone will look to take the next step this year under Rhett Lashlee, who coached the earlier-mentioned Van Dyke to his best season in south Florida.

There are several other names that could be added to the previous few paragraphs, but the inability of any of these players, like Florida State’s transfer addition D.J. Uiagalelei, new Ohio State passer Will Howard, new Huskies quarterback Will Rogers, or any of the players above, to separate themselves above the rest of the batch is a testament to the lack of true top talent in next year’s class. The potential depth is real, but if none of these names can establish themselves as potential Day 1 or 2 picks, the 2025 class faces the same dangers as this year’s group as any passers with remaining eligibility will turn back to NIL money if the NFL has yet to warm up to them.

Because of this lack of excitement in the 2025 crop, there’s belief that teams this year may be a bit more eager to take a quarterback, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. This sentiment was echoed today by Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network, who stated his belief that four to five teams could be looking to move up for a passer leading up to the draft due to the lack of top talent in next year’s group. This hasn’t changed the status much of the established Day 1 picks for this year, though it could push likely mid-first-rounders like Daniels and Maye up closer to the draft position of Williams. The real effect has been attributed to the likely Day 2 picks, Penix, McCarthy, and Nix.

The increased interest in this year’s fringe group can already be seen on the big board of Trevor Sikkema at Pro Football Focus. Sikkema has ranked Penix and Nix at 20th and 22nd overall, respectively, on his 2024 NFL Draft big board, placing them securely in the first round, if his rankings at all reflect NFL interest. McCarthy trails a bit, ranked at 57th, while Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt provides the only decent depth at 75th overall.

Since it’s becoming more and more likely that the Bears will keep their No. 1 overall draft slot, it falls to the Commanders (No. 2) and Patriots (No. 3) to decide how valuable Maye and Daniels will be. Both teams are likely to be interested in adding a quarterback this offseason themselves, but if they decide to stick with young passers Sam Howell or Bailey Zappe or address their needs through free agency, they could potentially cash in on a team more desperate to add a top passing prospect.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Raiders (No. 13) and the Vikings (No. 11) as potential teams to move up for a quarterback. Las Vegas is set to head into 2024 with their two veterans, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, and second-year passer Aidan O’Connell, who took over as the starter for much of last year. Minnesota, on the other hand, is set to watch Kirk Cousins and Joshua Dobbs head to free agency, leaving only Nick Mullens and second-year quarterback Jaren Hall on the roster.

While those two teams could prove to be contenders for Maye or Daniels, the possibilities are far more numerous for new potential Day 1 picks like Penix and Nix. They could end up falling anywhere in the first round, getting selected in the late-teens or seeing teams trade up at the end of the first night to guarantee that fifth-year option granted to first-round picks. Regardless, teams are being forced to do their homework on future draft classes in order to determine their quarterback needs for this year. The result could see up to five or six passers hearing their names called on the night of April 25th.

Raiders Targeting Jayden Daniels?

February 6th, 2024 at 10:20pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders will be eyeing quarterback prospects in the upcoming draft, but they might not wait for a signal-caller to fall to No. 13. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders could be a trade suitors for a top-three pick.

Fowler notes that head coach Antonio Pierce is a “big fan” of Jayden Daniels, but the organization would surely have to trade for the LSU quarterback. Pierce and Daniels crossed paths during their stints at Arizona State, and that familiarity makes the Raiders a natural landing spot for the prospect.

Further, Fowler notes that Pierce was evaluating offensive coordinator candidates with “the loose possibility of Daniels in mind.” The team’s first choice for OC, Kliff Kingsbury, most recently worked with the draft’s top QB prospect, USC’s Caleb Williams. When Kingsbury declined the Raiders offer and opted for the Commanders’ job, the Raiders pivoted to Luke Getsy.

Fowler assumes that the Bears will take Williams with the first-overall pick, meaning the Raiders will likely have to trade with the Commanders (No. 2) or the Patriots (No. 3) if they want to add Daniels or UNC’s Drake Maye. New GM Tom Telesco was known for his drafting prowess during his years with the Chargers, although his strategy usually didn’t feature home-run, draft-day trades.

With that in mind, it’s notable that the team recently met with Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. at the Senior Bowl, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Penix is hoping to emerge as the fourth QB on the draft board (following Williams, Daniels, and Maye), although he’s not consistently projected for the first round.

Regardless of how things unfold during the draft, it’s likely that the Raiders will be eyeing a new signal-caller in 2024. Jimmy Garoppolo barely played once Pierce was named the interim head coach, and the veteran will likely be a trade/cut candidate. And while rookie Aidan O’Connell was a standout during the final chunk of the season, it sounds like the Raiders envision him as more of a backup. If the Raiders strike out in the draft, the team could turn to the likes of Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, and Jameis Winston via free agency.