The dust is still settling on one of the biggest surprises of the first night of the NFL draft when the Falcons took Michael Penix Jr., but less than 24 hours after the shocking decision, the rookie quarterback was expressing his excitement to be part of the organization.
And the man who helped lead the Washington Huskies to the College Football Playoff national championship game this past season is looking forward to getting to emulate one of his favorite NFL quarterbacks — Michael Vick.
Penix told reporters Friday that Vick, the former Falcons star, had been someone he had watched play growing up and that he “had the Vick cleats and all.”
“He did great things here,” Penix replied when it was mentioned the No. 8 overall pick was the second left-handed QB named Michael the organization has had.
“I keep in contact with [Vick] now. He’s been a guy that I can reach out to whenever. He actually sent me a text congratulating me this morning. It’s great. I’m glad to be able to be old enough to have seen that era. To see what he did for the game and how he changed the game with just being able to do it in the air and on the ground. The way that he did it and at the level that he did it.”
Penix has some large shoes to follow with those expectations.
Vick was not only a quarterback who could move the ball through the air but was a mobile one who could run defenses ragged, setting NFL records in the process.
Vick set the single-season rushing yards record for a quarterback in 2006 when he ran for 1,039 in his final season with the Falcons.
Corey Chavous (21) on a 46-yard touchdown run in overtime in a Falcons’ win in 2002. AP
Penix’s abilities on the ground aren’t the same threat that Vick’s was back then, but the rookie has shown he can be a gunslinger, completing 64.4 percent of his passes his final year with the Huskies while throwing 36 touchdown passes.
The decision to take Penix created quite a stir on Thursday night because the Falcons had signed veteran QB Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal last month, with $100 million of that guaranteed.
Penix told reporters Friday that Cousins had reached out to him.
“I’m going to keep it just between me and him right now,” Penix said, according to ESPN.
“But it was definitely a good conversation, and I’m super excited to work with him, and he said he’s the same with me.”
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