Back in early January, it was reported that there were some people around the NFL who were concerned that the medical evaluation of Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was going to be so bad that teams would have to consider dropping him from their draft board entirely. For any player, this would be a devastating turn of events. But for a player of Michael Penix Jr.'s caliber — the 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up and one of the most successful quarterbacks of the last half-decade — it was a particularly painful pill to potentially have to swallow.

Penix showed up at the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis determined to prove the doubters wrong, and boy did he. Not only did Penix arrive ready to put on a show throwing the ball, but according to college football insider Bruce Feldman, Penix got a clean bill of health from the doctors in Indianapolis. Feldman made an appearance on Seattle Sports' Wyman and Bob Show earlier in the week, and had plenty of praise for the Washington quarterback (h/t Brandon Gustafson of Seattle Sports).

“I'm not surprised that he shined and threw it as well as he did. He clearly threw it better than anybody who was working out there in Indy over the weekend,” Feldman explained. He went on to claim that he had heard that Penix got “a clean evaluation” while in Indianapolis, and that he wouldn't be surprised if Penix was the fourth quarterback taken in the draft.

“If you told me Penix (will be the fourth quarterback drafted) or he's in the running with J.J. McCarthy for that fourth spot, I wouldn't be surprised. It just comes down to what people like,” Feldman said. Well, if those people who are making the important decisions on draft night like insane accuracy and the aesthetically pleasing nature in which a quarterback tosses the pigskin around, then Michael Penix Jr. might just be their guy.

Even before the NFL Combine, the assumption was that as long as Penix Jr.'s medicals weren't worst-case-scenario bad, then he would probably be a late 1st round pick. If Bruce Feldman's intel proves to be true, then Penix Jr.'s performance at the Combine likely locked him in as a day one pick.