The 2024 Draft was a launchpad for some of the NFL's best young quarterbacks, as four of the first six QBs drafted (Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix) have become franchise guys, while the Atlanta Falcons thought they whiffed by drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick.
Across the first two seasons (and 12 starts) of his career, Penix looked like one of the black sheep (with J.J. McCarthy) from one of the best QB classes in recent memory, and it stung seeing the Falcons be one of the only teams to not come out of this draft with a long-term answer under center, but it turns out it was better late than never.
In Year 3, Penix has been working with a new regime that actually knows how to cater the offense to his strengths, and it's working, because he's finally turning things around. He's finally showed signs of being a franchise QB as Atlanta is averaging over 34 points per game in his three starts in 2026.
According to Nick Penticoff, here is where the 26-year-old ranks in the following QB statistics:
- EPA per play: 3rd
- EPA success rate: 4th
- Completion percentage: 7th
- Yards per Attempt: 2nd
- Play-Action EPA per Play: 1st
And now that he's thriving, all that this means is there's another quarterback from this 2024 Draft class on his way to becoming another success story--but it is still early.
Michael Penix Jr. is becoming the latest QB success story from the 2024 NFL Draft
This is a draft class where Daniels won the Offensive Rookie of the Year and took the Commanders to the NFC Championship (as a rookie), Maye was the MVP runner-up and took New England to the Super Bowl, while Williams is leading a high-octane Bears offense and Bo Nix came away from taking Denver to the Super Bowl. That is a lot of accolades out of just one QB class.
This is a draft class where it's incredibly difficult to stand out, especially at quarterback, yet Penix is turning some heads this year. When the 2024 NFL Draft had four quarterbacks balling out it was already impressive, and now that it's five, his emergence is only making this draft look even better.
According to Pro Football Focus, Penix's 99.5 grade on deep passes is the highest at the quarterback position. Better than Patrick Mahomes. Better than Josh Allen. We all knew he could throw a pretty deep ball, but I don't think anyone expected the 26-year-old to unlock this offense in the way he has.
Listen, it's been just three starts in 2026 and there are still red flags in his game that have to be fixed. This isn't to say Penix is a guaranteed multi-time All-Pro or anything, because this level of play still has to be sustained across the rest of the season, so we can't jump to conclusions about him just yet.
However, it would be a lie to say the Dirty Birds are disappointed in what they've seen. Rather than being forced to go through this QB purgatory process all over again, he's set their 2027 Draft plans ablaze, which is good given he still has two years left on his rookie deal.
Terry Fontenot took a risk drafting Michael Penix Jr., and while it remains to be seen if he can stay consistently healthy, that risk is paying off. His breakout year is making the entire draft class look better, and hopefully sooner rather than later he'll lead the Falcons back to the playoffs and be on the same level as Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix.
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