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The Seattle Seahawks have two quarterbacks who were everyday starters during the 2023 season on their roster in Geno Smith and Sam Howell, but an impressive pro day by UW Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr. on Thursday has put him back in the conversation as a potential NFL Draft option for the hometown pro team.
Michael Penix Jr. shows off athleticism at UW Huskies pro day
In an NFL.com mock draft by Charles Davis published Thursday, he has the Seahawks taking Penix with the No. 16 overall selection in the first round of next month’s draft. And on Friday’s edition of FOX’s The Herd, host Colin Cowherd made the case for Seattle to get Penix in the draft.
Penix, who will turn 24 in May, twice tore an ACL early in his college career while at Indiana, but he turned heads at UW’s pro day by running the 40-yard dash in 4.51 and 4.57 seconds, as well having an impressive vertical jump of 36 1/2 inches. Adding that to his arm strength and deep ball accuracy can only help his draft stock.
Michael Penix Jr. full pro day highlights – watch every throw
Are the Seahawks as high on Penix as these insiders think they should be? After all, it’s hard to ignore the fact that new head coach Mike Macdonald’s staff includes offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff, who had the same positions with UW during Penix’s two years with the Huskies.
Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob talks weekly with Seahawks general manager/president of football operations John Schneider during the offseason leading up to the NFL Draft, and this week it meant catching up with Schneider after he attended Penix’s pro day on Montlake. Hosts Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton put Schneider on the spot to see if he would tip his hand Penix. So did he?
Read what Schneider said, or listen in the podcast in the player below or the video player atop this story, to judge for yourself.
Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider on Michael Penix Jr.
“Well, obviously, Coach Grubb likes him a lot, thinks the world of him. Coach Huff (too), so we feel like we have great information on him. You know, for us, he’s just always been a real steady performer, and what a great job he did this year going to the national championship game and everything.
“So yeah, it was great to go see him, he had a real nice workout (Thursday). Not getting into comparing quarterbacks or anything like that with J.J. (Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy), but he seems like a really cool person. Obviously we know what kind of competitor he is, but he threw the ball like, I don’t know, 95, 100 yards today a couple times. He really, like, threw it downfield real far, so it was it was a good day for him. So we’re all happy for Michael.”
The John Schneider Show airs weekly during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob leading up to the NFL Draft, typically at 4 p.m. Thursdays. Find podcasts of every episode of the show here.
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More Seahawks NFL Draft coverage
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• Draft Profile: Pros and cons of UW pass rusher Bralen Trice
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• Rich Eisen thinks Michael Penix will be drafted earlier than expected
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Michael Penix Jr has impressive pro day with Seahawks GM John Schneider in attendance
Thursday was the University of Washington pro day, and the headline name among Huskies draft
prospects was quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Even though Penix Jr participated in February’s NFL combine, he did not run the 40-yard dash. He ran the 40 at the pro day and unofficially went sub-4.6. Times are all over the place when it’s this type of event, but it’s nevertheless impressive.
“I’m a 4.4 guy, in my opinion,” Penix said (via ESPN). “Some people had 4.46, some people had 4.5, but that’s unofficial, so I’m good. I just showed I can run, so I feel good.”
Penix Jr showcased his athleticism even more with a 36.5” vertical jump, a better mark than any other quarterback at the combine. Likewise for his 10’5 broad jump.
Of course, Penix’s arm and prolific deep passing ability was his highlight trait in college, earning him Heisman Trophy runner-up honors in 2023.
Unsurprisingly, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider was in attendance. Almost every NFL team had at least one representative at the pro day, which also included workouts for offensive linemen Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten, wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, and defensive end Bralen Trice.
While Penix’s on-field success has been outstanding over the past two seasons at Washington, his deep injury history was one of the question marks concerning his draft status. It seems that he’s in the clear on that front and wowed with his workouts. It’s possible that Penix may end up in the first-round of next month’s NFL Draft, and maybe even in the range where the Seahawks could take him.
Because Penix is a local player, any formal visit with the Seahawks (which hasn’t been reported yet) would not count toward Seattle’s top 30 pre-draft visit limit.