Michael Penix Jr. is entering a make or break season that will define his NFL future. Penix still has a chance to cement himself as the Atlanta Falcons' franchise quarterback, and this new regime wants to see things through with him, but the road will get significantly tougher coming off a part-torn ACL.
In his first two seasons with the Falcons, Penix was in the worst possible system for his skillset. Zac Robinson forced him to operate out of the pistol but with Kevin Stefanski and a new offensive staff coming to town, there's reason to believe he could be a Year 3 breakout while operating under center.
Stefanski is lauded as a "quarterback whisperer", but he won't be an only person with a major impact on the 26-year-old's development going forward. Tanner Engstrand and Alex Van Pelt will be crucial, but having a young offensive coordinator in Tommy Rees is the most important hire of the offseason.
Tommy Rees will be the one to kick Michael Penix Jr.'s career into second gear
Instead of Stefanski calling plays on offense, we now know that the 33-year-old will be Atlanta's primary play-caller. And I think that'll quietly help Penix navigate some dangerous waters. Rees was a pretty solid college QB not too long ago, and I think his experience will benefit a young signal-caller.
And I'm sure the Dirty Birds are considering this same idea. Have a young play-caller who can relate to the player you are trying to evaluate, and also cater the offense more to his strengths. Penix is going to play under center and do more as a play-action passer in 2026, which is where he thrives.
Falcons fans are split on the idea of Rees caling plays over Stefanski, but it's still the same system--and things will be vastly different from where they were. Atlanta radio host Beau "Squidbilly" Morgan of 92.9 The Game thinks that Rees and Stefanski will help the 2024 first-rounder take a major leap.
"If you're looking at anything that needs to have an uptick, for me it's the coordinator position," Morgan said. "I don't know that Tommy Rees or Kevin Stefanski or whatever that they're the answer, but I would say things probably will look different in that Week 1 game. And I think Michael Penix Jr. should flourish given the understanding, especially with full health that he can move around a little bit more, and that can be drawn into the play design."
Since the Washington product is ramping up in his return from his partially-torn ACL suffered in November and is progressing to the point he was throwing during rookie minicamp, it's a fair assumption to suggest he'll be at or near 100% by the time Week 1 rolls around, which he implied.
And if he's fully healthy, Morgan noted that Rees and Stefanski can incorporate that into the play design, calling more plays where Penix can move around, like bootlegs and more play-action looks. And like we saw during his time in his college, this is where he thrives, so yeah, he truly will flourish.
The first step is beating out Tua Tagovailoa in the Falcons' quarterback competition, but that doesn't seem too difficult--and once he takes the field, Rees will do his best work setting in Michael Penix Jr. up for further success.
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