Barth: Michael Penix Could be a Top 10 Pick | Patriots Daily
Taylor Kyles of CLNS and Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub break down the impressive Sugar Bowl performance from Michael Penix, and reevaluate his draft stock. Where exactly will he be taken in the first round, and could the Patriots be a realistic landing spot for him?
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00:00 So Michael Pennix Jr. one of the few guys in these games that actually did sit down and get to really break down to see just how he performed.
00:07 Because he was one of the best college players who played this weekend.
00:11 The deep accuracy, not a surprise, but it's so impressive, especially considering with the footwork, like it's not always perfect.
00:18 It's still something that, you know, especially if you look really deep into his film, you'll see that his accuracy can kind of get all over the place because of it.
00:26 And then he's got the kind of Philip Rivers type release where it's all slow, looks a little wonky, but man, does that ball get there when you talk about the touch of the zip, like the one where he split the safeties and threw it to Jalen Polk.
00:39 I mean, then he had the really nice touch throw to the sideline where they fake the bubble screens.
00:43 I actually get to actually talk some X's and O's because I really got to sit down with this one.
00:47 But I mean, he was really, really impressive.
00:50 So what were your thoughts and do you think he's not only entered the first round conversation, because I really think that at the very least he could be maybe be taken towards the end.
00:59 But do you think he's inserted himself into the top 10, top 15 conversation?
01:03 And all of this is, of course, assuming the medical is clear and he continues to have a good performance in the championship game.
01:09 Oh, I mean, I think he's a first round lock now.
01:11 And I think it's a matter of top 15 or top 10 with him, Taylor.
01:14 My first thought was, wow.
01:16 I think I audibly said that on seven or eight of those throws.
01:19 I mean, that was one of the best quarterback games I've seen in a long time at the college level.
01:25 I he was so good, so good.
01:30 And you talk about, you know, where do you start the the poise, the pocket movement, the ball placement, the velocity, the reads.
01:38 He didn't make a mistake.
01:39 He didn't make a single mistake.
01:40 They drop.
01:41 How many times did he throw the ball in that game?
01:43 How many pass, but 42, 42 times they threw the ball in that game.
01:48 He didn't make one mistake against a good Texas defense is a Texas defense.
01:52 It was top 15 in the nation overall.
01:54 That was top 30 against the pass.
01:56 And he picked them apart.
01:59 And there's moments where I thought balls are dropped because I didn't see the receiver move his hand.
02:06 So I'm like, oh, that's overthrown.
02:07 No, he put it where forget the receiver not having to break stride.
02:10 The receiver have to move his hands.
02:11 Yeah.
02:12 And he's doing a doomsday.
02:14 Just right.
02:15 He's doing this in a tight coverage windows.
02:17 He's stepping around rushers in the pocket, you know, step, reset, throw.
02:21 He's throwing off balance.
02:22 We saw him run a little bit in this game, which I've been trying to tell you guys.
02:25 It's not that he's immobile.
02:26 He just doesn't want to do it to protect himself, which I get.
02:29 But when he has to do it, he can be a factor with his legs.
02:34 He was again.
02:36 I can't say enough.
02:37 I can't say enough about how good Michael Penix was in that game.
02:42 And I know doomsday is a great receiver.
02:43 Jalen Polk had a great game.
02:44 We'll talk about him.
02:45 But you like you said, the third Odunse, what does Odunse really do there?
02:49 I mean, Penix puts it right on his hands, right?
02:52 He just kind of tenses his fingers up a little bit to catch the ball.
02:54 That's it.
02:55 The throw, he splits the safeties to Jalen McMillan.
02:58 I, you know, McMillan, it was McMillan tips it up in the air and then catches it.
03:02 Right.
03:03 You know, that's what he did, but the balls on a rope.
03:05 And that's the other thing.
03:07 It's like, all right, when he needs to thread it, he threads it.
03:09 When he needs a touch pass, it's a touch pass.
03:11 There was not one moment watching that game.
03:13 And this is so rare for call is rare for the NFL.
03:16 Forget college football.
03:17 We're sitting there thing saying, what did he see?
03:20 Why did he make the decision he made?
03:23 Because I don't see it.
03:24 Every, he, everything he pressed was the right button.
03:28 That wasn't an anomaly.
03:30 He's had other games like that, but to do it on that stage against that team, man,
03:36 he, he looks special.
03:38 I gotta tell you, if it wasn't for the knee injuries, I think we'd be talking
03:41 about him as a potential one, one today.
03:43 I really do.
03:44 And, but, but look, and that matters.
03:47 That matters.
03:48 And there's a legitimate risk with the guy who's torn both ACLs with the guy
03:51 that's had four season ending injuries before two clean years, the last two
03:55 years, that factors in the combine.
03:57 Medicals are going to be huge, but.
03:59 I've said it about it from the beginning.
04:01 I'm going to keep saying it.
04:02 Taylor.
04:03 There is not a better thrower of the football.
04:05 He's the best thrower of the football we've seen come out in the last three
04:09 years.
04:10 I'll take him over anybody in that 22 class, right?
04:13 That's the Kenny picket class.
04:15 I mean, that class sucks, but he's a better throw the football than Bryce
04:18 young.
04:19 He's a better throw the football and CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson, will
04:22 Levis, whoever you want from last year, the ball just explodes out of his
04:27 hand.
04:28 I mean, just it's gone.
04:29 And I know some people struggle with the lefty throwing motion.
04:33 I flipped it.
04:34 If you go look on my Twitter, I flipped the video.
04:37 Does he have the best mechanics in the world?
04:40 No, you probably wouldn't teach a quarterback to throw like that.
04:43 And honestly, there's times where I'm looking at it and I'm like, his
04:46 footwork kind of sucks here.
04:47 But then I see that the ball is put, you know, in a keyhole, 45 yards down
04:51 the field.
04:52 And I'm like, all right, I guess it does.
04:54 Like, it doesn't really matter.
04:55 Right.
04:56 It's Aaron Rogers was not.
04:57 Well, Philip Rivers is the obvious calm, right?
04:59 He coaches.
05:00 I say you would never teach a young quarterback to throw the football the
05:04 way Philip Rivers throws the football.
05:05 Good that you weren't going to tweak it.
05:08 Another example.
05:10 Sorry.
05:11 Steph Curry.
05:12 Curry's jump shots like.
05:14 Yeah.
05:15 Never get to shoot like Steph Curry.
05:17 But is anybody going to sit here and be like Steph Curry's jump shot
05:20 problem?
05:21 Oh, never.
05:22 It's one of those things like is they're not bad.
05:25 I don't want to sit here and say they're bad.
05:27 His mechanics aren't bad, but they're good enough.
05:32 And for the flaws that are in there, they don't seem to bother him much.
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05:51 And we talk about mechanics with quarterbacks.
05:55 It's important to remember that it's more about comfort than you being
05:59 mechanical.
06:00 Like some guys like Patrick Mahomes, you don't want him throwing like a
06:03 Peyton Manning because he's not going to be comfortable.
06:06 There are things that every quarterback needs to fine tune.
06:08 Like Tom Brady even.
06:09 It was like the 1% of the 1% where there's always something you can do
06:12 better to get your release quicker or to just get a little bit more of
06:15 something else, what have you.
06:17 Penix just looks like a guy who was born to play quarterback.
06:21 And not only just from a physical perspective, but like you said, the
06:23 mechanics aren't perfect, but the passes are just beautiful.
06:27 And the fact that we've seen in several of these big games in late in the
06:31 fourth quarter, when we're talking like, all right, if he decides to take a
06:34 shot and it's inaccurate or gets picked off or he makes a mistake, like it
06:38 could very well end up completely swinging in the game.
06:41 Not only does he have the ice in his veins to make those decisions, but he
06:44 comes through.
06:45 And then you look at like the way he talks postgame.
06:48 Like he even kind of slide at Texas.
06:50 He was like as respectful as he could be.
06:52 He's like, yeah, I want to credit them.
06:54 They got great players.
06:55 The well coach called a good game, blah, blah, blah.
06:58 But you know, I thought what they were doing was kind of simple.
07:00 And honestly watching it, I thought the same thing because there was no safety
07:03 rotations.
07:04 They weren't trying to confuse him at all.
07:06 They were just lining up.
07:07 All right, middle field close, middle field open, making it easy for him.
07:11 The dude didn't really have to do anything.
07:12 It was like he was on autopilot, just cutting them up.
07:15 And I mean, like you said, the medicals are really important, but the fact that
07:19 he can do what he does with injuries to both shoulders with the same ACL injury
07:24 twice and he's still, it's like, you know, I've seen some reports that say he
07:28 doesn't have the same physical ability that he did when he was younger.
07:31 Sure.
07:32 But he's still fantastic.
07:34 So I'm excited to watch him in the championship game to just see more of what
07:39 he can do.
07:40 Let him build on his legend.
07:41 Just absolutely impressive, impressive prospect.
07:44 Is there anything else you want to add before we move on?
07:46 If he tears up Michigan, like he's a top 10 lock.
07:49 Yeah, again, that's an NFL defense, right?
07:51 Like I said, Texas defense is good.
07:54 Doesn't get enough credit.
07:55 Michigan's defense is best in the country.
07:57 It's the best in the country.
07:58 And if he, and he's going to have to do more in terms of maneuvering the pocket
08:01 and stuff like that.
08:02 But yeah, boy, and they might have, you know, it sounds like going to have
08:06 Dylan Johnson.
08:07 They're running back.
08:08 We got hurt late in that game, but you know, is he going to be at a hundred
08:10 percent?
08:11 That was, yeah.
08:12 Glad to see he's okay.
08:13 Another guy like through Patriots, by the way, on day three.
08:15 But yeah, I, it's just, I, I'm still like, I'm still going back and watching
08:20 the clips.
08:21 Cause I'm just like, it's, I don't remember the last time I, even at the NFL
08:24 level, I don't remember the last time I saw a quarterback play like that.
08:27 I mean, just every single pass is right on the hands with no window.
08:33 He's, he's not getting brought down on the backfield.
08:36 He's so calm and poison.
08:38 Like you said, too, like I, you can see how much his teammates love playing
08:42 with him.
08:43 And that's a factor too.
08:44 Like he's a leader of men.
08:47 He's got that dog in him.
08:48 However you want to phrase it.
08:50 Uh, it's, it's, I, I, I keep going back to it.
08:53 If it's not for the knee injuries, he's pushing Caleb Williams and the knee
08:56 injuries are real.
08:57 And that's, that's something.
08:59 If you're somebody who doesn't care about that.
09:01 And I think you have to care about it, but if you're somebody who doesn't care
09:04 about it, I think the age thing's overblown, but if you're somebody who
09:06 doesn't care about the knee injuries, I don't know how Michael Penix isn't one
09:09 one.
09:10 And I will say for a team like the Patriots that maybe wants to pop right away
09:15 and cares more about say the three-year window than the 10 year window.
09:19 Michael Penix looks pretty damn good right now, especially if they win this
09:23 week and they fall to four or five.
09:25 Cause you get a couple of pieces.
09:28 You get that guy T Higgins and you have him dotting balls 40 hours down the
09:32 field to T Higgins.
09:34 You got something there.
09:35 Now you've got to build an offensive line.
09:37 You got to take care of them.
09:38 Yeah, exactly.
09:39 Exactly.
09:40 That's what it's like.
09:41 I want to get him Jalen Polk, but now we, we, we got to get him a good
09:44 time.
09:45 Right.
09:46 And then you talk about like, it's the kind of a similar Mac Jones argument
09:49 where it's like, well, look at all the talent around him.
09:51 Like he's got all these guys who are going to go top 100 in the draft.
09:53 Sure.
09:54 But like you mentioned, he's putting these balls in windows that don't exist.
09:59 You have the play where he had a free rusher coming right down the pipe
10:02 immediately at him quick side swept.
10:04 So I get the ball out.
10:05 I think he had like a couple of plays like that actually, where pressure was
10:08 coming down and he just delivers a perfect pass.
10:10 So that's what you want to see.
10:12 We're sure you're throwing a great playmakers who are coming down and
10:15 finishing for you, but also you want to see him be able to make those just
10:19 like really, really high level plays where, when things don't go right and
10:23 things aren't perfect circumstances where, you know, a dude's a, it's not
10:26 10, doesn't have 10 yards of separation down the field where it's like, all
10:29 right, just hit him in stride and, you know, just get the completion.
10:32 I mean, I don't really know how many more questions other than obviously
10:35 the medicals he has to answer because he's doing it on big stages.
10:39 There's inconsistencies.
10:40 I think in some of the earlier games I saw again, like there were a couple
10:43 of games where the accuracy in terms of inconsistency was like, wow, but you
10:47 didn't see it in that game.
10:48 And again, in these big games, you're seeing them come through.
10:51 So we could do an entire show just on him.
10:53 But the point is Michael Panics, Jr.
10:56 You are him.
10:57 Actually, let me bring up one more comment here.
11:00 This is really interesting.
11:01 And this is a minor thing that I thought was big in this game.
11:03 Jason brings up a good point.
11:05 You didn't always see the Texas DBs turn and play the ball.
11:07 For all the crap we give bill about developing wide receivers.
11:12 One thing they do coach that I love, and this, I think Randy Moss taught him.
11:16 You don't show your hands until the last second.
11:21 So if you're tracking the ball down the field, right, you're running back
11:23 to the quarterback receivers, running back to the quarterback corners,
11:26 running back to the quarterback.
11:27 You might be looking back for the ball.
11:29 The corner is looking at you.
11:30 If you put your hands up, the corner knows the ball is coming.
11:34 Right.
11:35 And he's going to get in position where you go watch the Randy Moss and
11:39 Randy Moss is obviously the goat.
11:41 Like not everybody can do this, but Randy Moss, it would be, you know,
11:44 as the ball is coming down over his shoulder, just pops his hands out.
11:47 Right.
11:48 That's where Michael Pennix is.
11:49 Accuracy comes in.
11:50 A lot of the reason that Texas DBS were returning is because all the
11:53 Washington wide receivers were coming through with late hands because the
11:56 ball's right there.
11:57 They didn't have to be because you're running here, right?
12:00 You're running.
12:01 You're running like hit your chest and they just kind of had to pop their
12:03 hands open.
12:04 They don't have to go over here.
12:05 They don't have to go over here.
12:06 They don't have to go back here.
12:07 He allowed Pennix enabled them to really take advantage of the late
12:11 hands technique.
12:12 And the tech, I don't think it was the Texas defensive backs.
12:15 Not knowing to turn like not, you know,
12:18 knowing like the coaching point to turn there,
12:21 they're doing what they're told you watch the receiver and you play the
12:24 hands.
12:25 Cause that's what you do on a guy running down the field.
12:26 If you turn back to look, you slow down, you can't keep up.
12:28 I'm going to guess if, if,
12:30 if Bill's still here in the Patriots draft, Penix,
12:33 this is going to be a huge thing with them is going to be his ability to put
12:37 the ball right on guys and take advantage of that late hands concept.
12:40 So, you know, maybe some of it was college players.
12:43 I don't want to say that was like a hundred percent of the time, but no,
12:45 there were times where it was definitely,
12:47 you could see the hands go really late and the corner start to turn,
12:50 but it's too late.
12:51 The ball's already there.
12:52 Cause it was just so accurate.
12:53 The receiver could really take advantage of that.
12:55 Cause he didn't have to move his hands that far.
12:57 It didn't have to break stride or anything to get to the football.
13:00 Yeah.
13:01 I think there's a Rob Gronkowski like mic'd up video or something where he
13:03 says the same thing where like the season before he was playing Buffalo or
13:06 something like that.
13:07 And he put his hands up too early and he got swiped out and he was like,
13:10 there was another huge play he made. He credited. Yeah.
13:13 I just didn't show him my hands and I was able to come down with it.
13:15 So yeah, I'm really excited.
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