NFL Draft 2024 Rumors: Michael Penix Jr. Hyped by Teams at Combine; 'Trending Upward'

The NFL Scouting Combine was apparently a success for Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter that he spoke to three teams about the signal-caller, and they all "said it went well" with one scout calling him a "stud" who "explained himself, explained his game, process information, got on the big board, drew up some plays" during interviews.

"They felt pretty good about him," Fowler continued. "He threw the ball well. He can quote, 'Yes, make all of the throws'. But also, the measurables were good. Hands 10.5, so a cold-weather team, if you want to get your hands on Penix, you can do that. He's in a good spot for sure. We'll see if he can sneak into the first round but certainly he's a player who's trending upward right now."

Penix is a household name among college football fans after leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Derrik Klassen of B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked him as the No. 5 overall quarterback in this draft, but he clearly helped himself in Indianapolis. And it wasn't just through the interviews, as B/R's NFL Scouting Department called him "comfortably the best quarterback during throwing drills" among the second group of competitors.

"Penix nailed most of the routes he threw," the evaluation read. "Short or deep, inside or outside, it didn't really matter; Penix put it on his man."

Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are widely considered the top three quarterbacks in this year's draft class, but Penix is competing with J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix as they all attempt to separate themselves from the secondary group.

The ability to perhaps separate ahead of April's draft could be the difference between being a first-round pick and going in the second round or later, and Penix took a major step toward generating some of that necessary buzz at the combine.