Inside The Huskies

Mock Drafts Not Showing a Lot of Attention to Penix, Other Huskies

In a quarterback-rich talent pool, the UW offensive leader still has a lot of convincing to do.

Dan Raley

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You can find Michael Penix Jr. standing tall in the pocket on game day and carefully surveying the scene before him, most of the time very well protected.

You can locate him at the top of the NCAA stats where he leads all FBS players in season passing yardage (2,934) and passing yards per game (366.75).

He's also working his way up the University of Washington football record book in several categories, mostly notably having already established records for most passing yards in a game (516) and most total offense yards in an outing (529).

Where you won't find the first-year Husky quarterback by way of Indiana is in most NFL mock drafts, at least in the higher rounds.

Let's see, Penix carries a 6-foot-3, 213-pound frame, seemingly built for pro football. He has a powerful and accurate left arm, able to hit passes long and short. And he's extra calm and savvy while waiting for receivers to clear and get open.

Yet nobody in the projection business seems to be noticing this Tampa, Florida, native as of yet. Or as much as they should.

Chances are they've written him off because of his extensive injury history that involves suffering four season-ending mishaps at Indiana. 

What the analysts do acknowledge is that this has the potential to be a quarterback-rich NFL draft and right now they prefer C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young over everyone else, and lesser regarded players such as Kentucky's Will Levis, Tennessee's Hendon Hooker, Stanford's Tanner McKee, Washington State's Cam Ward and Florida's Anthony Richardson over Penix.

Naturally, the draft is still six months off and a lot can change once everyone gets through the college season and shows what they've got at the NFL Combine and in private workouts. Yet is stills seems odd that this Husky quarterback hasn't drawn more Internet draft attention than he has. 

It took considerable searching, but Penix finally turned up as a first-round pick for one of the CBS Sports ballots of which there are many, going No. 30 overall and pegged to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a notable pro football haven for former Huskies; as a second-round selection for Walter Camp, going No. 39 overall without a destination cited; as a third-round pick for Pro Football Network, turning up No. 84 overall and bound for the Minnesota Vikings; and as the last pick of the fourth round and No. 128 overall by Draft ID, with no team designated.

Actually, the UW player who has drawn the most mock draft attention so far is junior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who currently isn't a Husky starter. Considered a first-rounder before tearing an Achilles tendon 18 months ago, he comes off the bench yet remains a pass-rushing force and maybe simply a limited-down specialist at the next level.  

The player also known as ZTF shows up as a second-rounder and the No. 49 pick overall for Lines.com, going to the Atlanta Falcons; as a third-rounder and No. 77 overall by Sports Talk, with no team listed; as a third-rounder and No. 79 overall by Bleacher Report, with no destination projected; as a fourth-rounder and No. 114 overall by Draft ID, with no team identified; as a fifth-rounder and No. 160 overall by Pro Football Network and Green Bay Packers bound; and as a seventh-rounder and No. 207 overall by Drafttek.com, ending up with the Miami Dolphins. 

The mock draft attention is only sporadic for their Husky teammates. 

Sophomore edge rusher Bralen Trice, who beat out ZTF for the starting spot, was pegged as a second-round choice and No. 46 pick overall for the Arizona Cardinals, which he wouldn't resist. He's from Phoenix.

Out of the talented collection of Husky wide receivers, sophomore Jalen McMillan has generated the most mock draft interest.

The player known as JMac is pegged as a third-rounder and No. 70 overall, with no destination singled out, by Draft Countdown; as a sixth-rounder and No. 187 overall, bound for the New York Giants, by Lines.com; and as a seventh-rounder and No. 220 overall, with no team cited, by Draft ID. 

McMillan's running mate, fellow sophomore Rome Odunze, appears in just one mock draft that we could find. Draft ID put him in the seventh round and No. 205 overall, with no team specified. 

Sixth-year senior offensive guard Henry Bainivalu likewise showed up only in the Draft ID breakdown, going in the seventh round at No. 219 overall.

Which brings us to the other UW offensive guard in Jaxson Kirkland.

Widely considered a first-round pick a year ago before getting injured and needing surgery, and then beginning this season late, Kirkland still has a long road back to reclaiming all of his advance notoriety.

Kirkland turns up in three mock drafts that we found, going at the end of the third round and No. 92 by Bleacher Report, with no team singled out; in the fourth round and No. 104 overall by Drafttek.com to the Jacksonville Jaguars; and in the fifth round and No. 136 overall by Draft ID, with no franchise listed. 

The second opportunity for Kirkland would be good for him in NFL marketing and endorsement purposes: Jaxson to Jacksonville, his team, his town.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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