Michael Penix Jr. may make Falcons re-consider possibly drafting a QB in 2027

We have seen across the last couple of weeks just how badly the Atlanta Falcons needed Michael Penix Jr. in the starting lineup. Without him in the lineup, they were one of the worst offenses in the NFL so, it felt like a foregone conclusion they would draft a QB in the first round of a 2027 NFL Draft.

But wait. Once Penix returned from his torn ACL, this offense has finally lived up to its potential. Following the 45-24 blowout victory over the Saints on Monday night, the Falcons have won two straight games with Penix in the lineup after the 0-2 start--and both wins were in dominant fashion.

It goes to show you how having a competent coaching staff can affect a young QB's development.

The nice part is that the Falcons did not need Penix to do a lot in their Week 4 victory in New Orleans. The 45-24 blowout win saw the run game do most of the heavy lifting as Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. combined for over 200 rushing yards and five touchdowns, but he still completed 15 of 20 pass attempts for 223 yards and a touchdown on the day.

So while the 26-year-old didn't dominate the stat sheet like he did in his season debut against the Packers, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad performance by any means. He took care of the football, showed some nice poise, and made some beautiful throws throughout the evening, such as this tight-window pass to Drake London to move the chains.

According to ESPN research, Michael Penix Jr. is the first Falcons quarterback with a completion percentage over 70% with 10 yards per attempt in consecutive games since Matt Ryan in 2018. He's finally putting it all together to look like the franchise QB this team has looked for since Ryan left.

Michael Penix Jr. is finally establishing himself as the Atlanta Falcons' franchise QB

While it's still early and there's a long season ahead, the former top-10 pick has given the Dirty Birds every reason to believe he can finally take that step toward being a franchise guy. They were never gonna move on before seeing things through, and boy they should be glad this new regime is patient.

Even Kevin Stefanski sung the praises of his young quarterback while addressing the media after the game.

"I thought Mike played well," Stefanski said. "I thought he took care of the football, made some really good throws... There's a bunch of great stuff out there, but I really like his demeanor on game day, I like how he's operating. He's doing a nice job"

The nice part about the Falcons hanging their hat on the run game is that they don't ask Penix to be a superhero, which plays right into Penix's strengths. With that arm talent and the personnel he is throwing to, you know there's no throw he can't make, but he's best as a play-action passer, which means he can deliver dots like this touchdown to Jahan Dotson when given time.

When you see a quarterback return from such a major injury--especially a young one--you see them worry or get skittish, but Tommy Rees and this coaching staff are doing such a great job making him comfortable. They'll start the game with easy throws to get the third-year man in a rhythm before opening up the playbook, but against the Saints (and the Packers), this guy was playing fearless.

According to ESPN's Ben Solak, no offense in the NFL has amassed more total yards across the last two weeks than the Falcons (918). Not Josh Allen. Not Patrick Mahomes. Not Lamar Jackson. But Michael Penix Jr. is currently leading the hottest offense in football. Who would've seen that coming?

And Stefanski wasn't even the only person to acknowledge how different this team feels with Penix. Jessie Bates III did the same thing while addressing the media, so not only does it feel like the Falcons finally have him looking the way we expected, he has the support of the locker room also.

“We just want to show the world who we can be," Bates said. "The first two weeks were not up to our standards. Obviously, when you got No. 9 back there dealing, it's a whole different team."

The 2027 QB class was supposed to be loaded, but it's less stable than we thought it was. Dante Moore is injured, Arch Manning still has a lot to clean up, Drew Mestemaker is an unknown, and the jury's still out on both Darian Mensah and CJ Carr, so you may as well let the guy keep on balling when the whole team is behind him amid his emergence.

Michael Penix Jr. has truly unlocked this Atlanta Falcons' offense upon his return, and his performance against the Saints is further proof drafting his QB successor is not in the cards this spring.

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