It's no secret that the Atlanta Falcons have a lot of work to do regarding Michael Penix Jr.'s development. Missing the home stretch of the season really set things back in that area since his injury history is already a big red flag, but the Kevin Stefanski hire bodes well for his future in Atlanta.
Stefanski or not, anyone with a keen eye for football knows the job is far from finished, including Fox Sports' Danny Parkins. During Wednesday's episode of First Things First on FS1, Parkins diagnosed an offseason cure for every team in the NFC South, during which he dropped a wild fact about Penix.
Parkins revealed that the 25-year-old threw between the hashes just 10 times in 2025. In nine starts and nearly 300 pass attempts, only 10 were between the hashes. This should be a major indication of where Stefanski and company should start in their work with Penix, because this cannot fly anymore.
It's become abundantly clear what Kevin Stefanski needs to do to help Michael Penix Jr. live up to his potential
I'm not sure if this is more of a Penix issue or a play-calling issue, but regardless, it doesn't change how worrisome this is. I feel more inclined to chalk this up to one of the many red flags this offense endured under Zac Robinson's leadership, but Penix still needs to become a more complete player.
Running the offense out of the pistol is a decision where Robinson is solely to blame, but if he had faith in the the Washington product to make throws over the middle, he'd dial them up more often. But this is probably more telling of his failures as a play-caller, which won't persist under the new regime.
The 39-year-old was unable to call plays where receivers got open over the middle, but the WR room also made his job a lot harder since none of them produced besides Drake London. Still, there's no excuse for how much his offense handicapped Penix knowing how easy the blueprint to success was.
In college, the southpaw was someone who could make any throw asked of him and had some of the best arm talent I've ever seen. We've seen that arm talent translate time and again in the NFL, but the narratives surrounding him are incredibly misguided due to one of the worst play-callers I've seen.
Once the offense shifts to a play-action friendly, under center system, expect Penix to attack the middle of the field more often. Stefanski and Tommy Rees will call plays that'll help receivers get open over the middle more, so Falcons fans should expec some massive strides once he returns in Year 3.
The potential is there, so if Stefanski can even tap into just a little bit of that potential with these weapons, this offense will be electric in 2026.