Getting rookie tight end Brock Bowers has proven to be a rarity in the recent history of the Raiders’ NFL draft, an instance in which the team appears to have used a first-round pick wisely. Apparently, it can be done, even for this franchise. But as the 2024 season unfolds, even as Bowers excels, the lingering question remains: What if the Raiders had gotten Michael Penix Jr. in the NFL draft?
Certainly, all the signs pointed to that being the way the first round unfolded, with Penix viewed as perhaps a second-rounder before vaulting into a projected first-rounder late in the draft process. There was speculation that the Raiders would have to use their second-rounder to land Penix.
That quickly changed to the team needing to use its first-rounder, the No. 13 pick overall, to add Penix.
And it’s likely that is what would have happened, except that the Falcons had other ideas. Despite having signed Kirk Cousins to a major free-agent deal, Atlanta shocked the NFL (and Cousins) by picking Penix at No. 8.
The Raiders missed out. Again, Bowers is a heck of a consolation prize. But with the bummer performances this team is getting at quarterback from Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, wouldn’t it be much more fun to at least have had a chance to see what Penix could do in Las Vegas?
Raiders Have Options at QB
Instead, Penix is on the bench with the Falcons, waiting his turn behind Cousins. But there’s a chance he is still not out of the long-term plans for the Raiders at quarterback.
Outlining the Raiders’ options for the quarterback position going forward, Mike Ginnitti—the managing editor and NFL guru of the contract-expert site Spotrac—said that a trade for Penix could be an outcome.
“Is this a team that is actually going to tank themselves into one of the top two quarterbacks at the top of the draft next year, or is this team that is in on (free agents) Sam Darnold or Russell Wilson?” Ginnitti said on “The Spotrac Podcast.”
“Or is this team that is going to throw the book at the Atlanta Falcons for Michael Penix Jr.? I think all of these options will be available to a team like the Raiders that do have some pieces defensively speaking that—I don’t know that they have anything offensively.”
Michael Penix Jr. Biding Time in Atlanta
We’ve yet to see Penix in the regular season, and the way the Falcons have handled him to this point leaves open some questions about his future in Atlanta. He played only one preseason game before the Falcons sat him, even though Cousins was not playing. Penix was healthy.
Were they protecting their future starter? Or were the Falcons just aiming at keeping Penix healthy so that they could trade him to a QB-desperate team like the Raiders? The 2025 NFL draft won’t be as bustling with quarterback talent as this year’s was, so maybe the Falcons could turn Penix into a massive predraft trade chip.
The Raiders would have to be interested. Remember, this is a strong-armed, accurate deep thrower who could fit the Raiders’ style well. Just before the draft, remember, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz noted that an NFL coach texted him a strong endorsement of Penix.
“Freak show! Dude runs 4.5 and then jumps 37 inches. Arm strength is crazy in person. Locked in 1st rounder,” Schultz noted on Twitter/X.
The Raiders could certainly use a freak show these days.
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