What is Michael Penix Jr.s NFL Draft ceiling

.’s most recent mastercla s of a performance was the catalyst for win over in the Sugar Bowl. It also could help him with the next chapter of his football career.The Washington star is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 Draft. But prior to Monday’s game, the consensus among draft evaluators seemed to be that , and were all better quarterback prospects than Penix, who doesn’t have any college eligibility left after Jason Kidd Jersey the national title game.Penix certainly made a strong case, though, to join that group in the semifinal win, throwing for 430 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 31 yards as part of a 37-31 victory.While Penix’s performance on Monday might have been a revelation for some, FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst has been high on the quarterback’s draft prospects throughout the season.ADVERTISEMENT «Michael Penix is an elite quarterback,» Klatt said on «I think he should be drafted in the top five, no doubt. The knee injuries will scare people off, and he might fall, but I don’t think he gets past 10. What you see is directly comparable to what he needs to do at the National Football League level.»When should Penix Jr. be drafted? Klatt described Penix’s game as «calm» as he shared what the lefty does differently compared to his counterparts.»Even when he’s not ready to throw, he manipulates the pocket with ease to get himself in position to make throws,» Klatt said. «There is a huge difference between guys who throw the football well and guys who pa s the football well. Michael Penix is a pa ser. The difference is, he understands leverage. Understanding leverage, you take a guy that’s accurate with the football and when you watch all of these plays, the ball is always away from the defense.»He’s always allowing his player an opportunity to make a play. He’s always putting the odds in the wide receiver’s favor. It’s not a 50/50 ball. It’s a 60/40 ball, at worst. It’s a 70/30 ball. It’s a 90/10 ball. Why? Because he understands leverage.»Penix’s ability to, as Klatt puts it, understand leverage and manipulate the pocket turned him into one of the best pa sers in college in the last two seasons. He threw for 4,641 yards in his first season at Washington last year, before throwing for a nation-best 4,648 yards to go with 35 pa sing touchdowns and just nine interceptions this season, leading the Huskies to go undefeated.Despite the strong numbers, Penix didn’t receive the Heisman. Klatt, who voted for Penix, took exception to some of the narratives surrounding the Heisman voting this season as he made a bold claim about Penix’s NFL potential.»I think he upgrades 13 NFL teams next week,» Klatt said of Penix. «If I was drafting next spring, I would really look at this guy. This whole narrative, and you know who you are if you pushed this, that the Heisman voting was done before the conference championship games and it wasn’t a conversation with and Michael Penix, you should be ashamed of yourself. It just means that you didn’t watch Washington football.»Why Michael Penix Jr. is worth the risk FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd concurred with Klatt’s overall sentiments about Penix and how he rates a prospect. As he mentioned that 13 of the 14 teams currently in the playoff picture have a star quarterback or an offensive-minded head coach, he believes that at least five quarterbacks (Williams, Maye, Daniels, Penix and ) should be selected within the first 12 picks of the draft.»When I see people say, Bo Nix, second round. Michael Penix could drop.’ Really? The only position in football worth more than a point is quarterback,» Cowherd said. «, the MVP, from data over the last several years looks like he’s worth 11 points per game.»There are a couple of non-performance-related factors that could hurt Penix Jeff Green Jersey ‘s status come draft time. He’s relatively older than most quarterback prospects, turning 24 before the start of the 2024 NFL season. He’s also dealt with a slew of injuries. He tore his ACL in 2018 and again in 2020. He also suffered season-ending shoulder injuries in both the 2019 and 2021 seasons.But Cowherd believes that shouldn’t deter anyone from selecting Penix.»‘Well, the injuries.’ Why do I care? Life’s full of risks,» Cowherd said. «Spoils to the victors. Aggre sive people win in every sport. You don’t draft for a fear of the floor. You draft because of ceiling. You draft for ceiling. has had multiple season-ending injuries. Do you think regrets drafting him? You really do? , college and pro, has had multiple injuries. You think regrets drafting him? ‘s going to win MVP. Last two years, he couldn’t finish the season. You think regrets drafting Lamar Jackson?»You draft for Tua, Burrow and Jackson’s ceiling. You don’t draft, or do any busine s, for fear of the floor. That makes no sense. Sky’s the limit. That’s what you draft.»Sugar Bowl: Michael Penix Jr. fuels Washington’s dramatic victory over Texas Penix has remained healthy over his two seasons at Washington, failing to mi s a game. Even if Penix gets hurt in the NFL, Cowherd thinks the upside is too good to pa s on.»Guys get hurt,» Cowherd said. «It’s like the stock market. I have bad years in the stock market. I’m not getting out of it. Michael Penix may get injured. Tua has, Burrow has, Lamar has you’re getting out of that busine s?»More on the College Football Playoff National ChampionshipEverything to know about the championship gameExpert picks: Will Michigan or Washington win it all?Ranking the top 20 players in the championship gameJoel Klatt: What to expect from Michigan, WashingtonHow high is Michael Penix Jr.’s draft ceiling?