The Washington players’ pro day was last week, and the New York Giants dispatched a sizable contingent of coaches and front-office executives to scout them. Michael Penix, the left-handed quarterback for Washington who just finished a fantastic season by most measures and appeared in the National Championship, was the main attraction.
Penix is an option for the Giants if they want to invest a draft selection at the quarterback position, but he comes with a number of red flags that should deter them from taking a chance on his upside. To state the obvious, Penix has a lengthy injury history, including tearing his right ACL twice, a clavicle fracture, and A/C joint separation in his throwing arm.
Fortunately, Penix has enjoyed two years of injury-free football, suggesting that he’s overcome those issues and is 100% heading into the NFL.
However, it is always fair to mention the MetLife turf and what that has done to players’ knees, so Penix automatically comes with an asterisk. Aside from the injury probability, the Giants recently handed out a large contract to Andrew Thomas to secure the left tackle position, and Penix, being a left-handed quarterback, would change his blindside to the right tackle spot.
The Giants don’t have a true and stride player at RT, despite signing Jermaine Eluemunor to help smooth over the position. Until proven otherwise, the Giants have one of the worst pass-blocking units in football.
Nevertheless, Penix just finished a season in which he completed 4,906 yards of passing with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was excellent in terms of big-play analytics and downfield accuracy, but at almost 24, he would be too old to be a rookie and, given his limited mobility, might not have much more opportunity to develop in the NFL. Even though he had a fast 40-yard speed on Washington’s pro day, pocket movement and extending plays aren’t always impacted by that stat.
In the end, Penix finds it extremely difficult to be pulled out of the pocket—a situation that affects all quarterbacks who play behind the Giants’ offensive line.
In the NFL, you need to be able to throw on the move, and most of the elite quarterbacks have that quality. Penix is fantastic in the pocket and is one of the best pre-snap processors in the draft class, but investing a draft selection on an injury-prone left-handed quarterback may be too risky.
Simply put, there are too many red flags for the Giants to move on from Daniel Jones because of injury concerns and acquire another quarterback with the same issues. They need to reset the position with a young player and a clean bill of health, and while that’s easier said than done, given the Giants hold the sixth overall selection, it is a reality they need to face.
Taking a flyer on Penix in the second round may be justifiable, but a first-round selection should be off the table entirely.
