Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. If you look at just his last two seasons with the Washington football program, he would be in the conversation with the top three QBs heading into the league. However, age and injury are a real concern, which will hurt the signal-caller’s draft slot. So, where are the best Michael Penix Jr. destinations in the NFL draft? The answers are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, and Minnesota Vikings.
To answer this question, here’s what you need to know. The reason Penix will be a late first or early second-round pick is that he will be 24 years old in May and all four of his seasons for Indiana ended with major injuries. Through four seasons with the Hoosiers, Penix never played more than seven games in one campaign.
However, over the last two seasons in the Washington football program, Penix has been nothing short of spectacular (and spectacularly healthy). He played in 28 games, threw for 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns, and made the national championship game this past season.
The NFL Scouting Combine will go a long way to clearing up Penix’s injury questions, but the age issue remains the same. No matter what happens, the NFL team that drafts him likely isn’t getting a decade-plus starter at QB. However, could he be a successful signal-caller for the next six to eight years? That’s the question these teams need to figure out.
So, the best Michael Penix Jr. destinations in the NFL draft are teams that can play him right away and have the players around the QB to help make him successful immediately. That’s why the Steelers, Seahawks, and Vikings make so much sense.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers used a first-round pick in 2022 on Kenny Pickett, and after just two seasons, it seems like he is not the answer to replace Ben Roethlisberger. Like Penix, Pickett was on the older side coming into the draft, turning 24 before his rookie season.
For Pittsburgh, though, this model does make some sense, as the team they have around the QB is ready to win now and can’t necessarily wait for a 20 or 21-year-old to develop.
Penix would come in and immediately have a decent offensive line, two solid running backs, two talented wide receivers, and a good tight end. Add to that a perennially excellent defense led by superstar TJ Watt, and you have the makings of an instant playoff team if the QB can come through.
Heck, they made the playoffs in 2023 starting Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph!
If Penix can come in, stay healthy (the caveat with any team that drafts him), and play up to the level we saw at Washington, then the Steelers can be contenders for the next five years or so.
Seattle Seahawks
Why not keep Michael Penix Jr. in the town he’s played in for the last two seasons?
After the injury-riddled time in Indiana, the Pacific Northwest agreed with Penix and he became a legit Heisman Trophy and national championship contender. He knows the area, the fans there love him, and he is comfortable playing in that environment.
Plus, on the field, the biggest reason the Seahawks should draft the former Huskies QB is that they now employ his Washington play-caller, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
Grubb and Penix had a partnership that took Washington to the top, and they could enjoy that same chemistry down the street with the Seahawks. Sure, there is the pesky Geno Smith problem, but everyone knows he is not the long-term answer, and if Penix does have to sit behind a starter, it would only be one year behind Smith.
Additionally, Penix fits the Seahawks' timeline. They have been in a soft rebuild, while still remaining competitive since trading Russell Wilson, and now a huge chunk of their roster is between 22 and 25.
Offensive tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo, and defensive standouts Boye Mafe, Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Julian Love all fit into this category.
Penix would fit in well with this group of up-and-coming Seahawks.
Minnesota Vikings
The best fit for Michael Penix Jr. in the 2024 NFL Draft is with the Minnesota Vikings.
While the full roster might not be as ready to win now as the Steelers or as young and promising as the Seahawks, the Vikings have one thing that no one else has: Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson is in the midst of contract extension negotiations, and one thing that may be holding it up is the lack of a quarterback. Kirk Cousins is 35, coming off an Achilles tear, and an unrestricted free agent. And as for Plan B? There is no Plan B.
While pairing Jefferson with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels might work, the Vikings don’t have the assets or seemingly the wherewithal to trade into the top three in the NFL draft. So, Penix becomes the best option over a younger project like JJ McCarthy or a less accomplished college QB in Bo Nix.
Penix seems like the only QB who could come in and be the signal-caller that Jefferson needs right now, and if Jefferson needs it, the Vikings must provide it ASAP, before it’s too late.
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