Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Michael Penix Jr. High Up on Former NFL Quarterback’s Radar for Breakout Year

A lot of expectations on the young shoulders of Michael Penix Jr.

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The upcoming 2025-26 NFL season will see Michael Penix Jr. in his first year as the starter for the Atlanta Falcons. Drafted in the 2024 NFL draft with the 8th overall pick, Penix was given almost an entire season to get accustomed to the NFL and to learn from veteran Kirk Cousins by playing the role of a backup until week 16.

Since then, Penix has taken over the starting role in Atlanta and, come September, it will be his first official season in charge of the Falcons’ offense. Last year, the Falcons were severely criticised by many fans after they drafted the Washington Huskies alum, having already signed Kirk Cousins to a massive 4-year deal.

However, it seems it was their plan all along to have Penix learn from one of the best signal callers in the game today, and have him in a better state of mind in his second year.

Former QB Robert Griffin III Is Excited To See Penix in Action This Year

Judging from what we have seen of Penix in the final three regular-season games of the 2024-25 NFL season, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III went on social media to shower praise on Penix. RG III, as he is often referred to, was mightily impressed with Penix’s ability to not be flustered when pressured, a glimpse of which we saw last season.

RG III noted that Penix is not scared to keep his eyes downfield even when being pressured, and that is a top quality for any QB to have. The Falcons have a full offseason to build a game around their young signal caller, and it bodes well for the receivers who should benefit from Penix under center.

“Michael Penix Jr. will show off his ELITE arm talent, downfield throwing ability and anticipation this year. But his 3 starts last year showed he isn’t afraid of the NFL pass rush. Penix Jr. led the NFL with 17.3 yards/completion when under pressure.”

Michael Penix Jr. will be the breakout QB of the Year in the NFL this year.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 16, 2025

With an entire offseason for Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson to build this offense completely around Penix Jr’s, this offense will be the most exciting one Atlanta has had since the Historic 2016 one.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 17, 2025

Can the Falcons Get Back to Postseason Football This Year?

At present, there is plenty of optimism surrounding the Falcons and their chances at making it back to the playoffs this year after missing out on the past seven seasons. Last year, Atlanta finished 8-9 and second in the NFC South.

The NFC South is one of the easier divisions, as both the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints have struggled recently, which means the only real threat for the Falcons remains the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Just a reminder that Drake London had:

39 Targets
352 Receiving Yards
2 Touchdowns

during his 3 games played with Michael Penix Jr. last season.

Astronomical upside 🚀 pic.twitter.com/TQTAfGI1Zd
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) June 17, 2025

Also Read: Dak Prescott Ranks 4th on World’s Highest Paid Athletes of 2025 List, 4 More Quarterbacks Find Place in Top 20!

With Penix under center and with other stars on offense, such as wide receivers Drake London, Darnell Mooney, along with tight end Kyle Pitts, and running back Bijan Robinson, the Falcons have a talented set of players who can lead them back to the playoffs.

Atlanta Falcons

Michael Penix jr.

NFL

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!