ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Falcons coaches and front office personnel couldn’t avoid a comparison when they witnessed the arm talent of Michael Penix Jr. in a workout before the 2024 NFL draft.
The Falcons’ decision-makers thought they were seeing the next Matthew Stafford. For coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who saw Stafford up close during their time as Los Angeles Rams assistants, that created a strong incentive to make Penix the No. 8 overall pick in the 2004 draft even though the team already had invested heavily in free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins.
As the Falcons prepare to face Stafford and the Rams on Monday night, they aren’t backing away from the comparison, even in a season Stafford is leading the league in touchdown passes (40), passing yards (4,179) and passer rating (112.1). Penix is recovering from season-ending surgery on his left knee.
Morris and Robinson still are fans of Stafford — and they still believe Penix has similar arm talent.
“You hate comparing guys apples to apples, but there were definitely a lot of similarities in their game,” Robinson said. “I think the ability to touch any part of the field was a thing that stuck out, and I think Mike’s going to just continue to grow with that next level of layer and throws. Obviously, Stafford’s got every throw in his book now, and Mike did a great job this year on some of our second-level dagger intermediate cuts, being able to layer throws over linebackers. That’s kind of the next level that you need, but 100% that was an easy comp.”
Stafford earned only his third Pro Bowl honor this season and could be bound for his first AP All-Pro award.
“It’s great,” Stafford said of the Pro Bowl recognition. “It’s a great honor to get. Fans are involved, players are involved, coaches … whoever’s involved is involved. I appreciate it. I play this game to try to play at a high level and get respect from the people that you do it with and play against. That part of it is really cool.”
At 37, Stafford has led the Rams (11-4) to one of the best records in the NFL as he enjoys perhaps his most productive season. He is only one touchdown pass away from matching his career high set in 2011 with Detroit and matched with the Rams in 2021.
“What’s interesting is there are a lot of layers to the Pro Bowl stuff, but when you talk to the real football people, I don’t think he’s seen that way,” Rams coach Sean McVay said of Stafford having only two previous Pro Bowl seasons. “I think he’s seen as a guy that’s one of the best to ever do it. I think that’s been very well acknowledged this year, but I think it’s probably overdue.”
McVay’s view of the respect for Stafford was supported by strong compliments from Morris and Robinson.
“He is awesome,” Morris said, adding he remembers being the Rams’ defensive coordinator from 2021-23 and watching Stafford abuse his defense in practice.
“I watched him … have an absolute ball while he’s torturing us,” Morris said. “I was able to observe a guy that every time he took the field, he felt like he had a chance to win, and we did. I watched him breathe confidence into the organization, the coaches, his players, all-hands-on-deck mentality on everything that he had going on with everything. He’s just been absolutely fun to watch, especially up close.”
Robinson said Stafford is “one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. He’s a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
Stafford was the No. 1 overall pick by Detroit in the 2009 NFL draft after wowing representatives of all 32 NFL teams at his personal workout at Georgia. Morris and Robinson were similarly impressed after making the cross-country flight to attend Penix’s workout at Washington.
Penix took over as Atlanta’s starter for the final three games of his 2024 rookie season before entering this season as the full-time starter. The Falcons (6-9) were 3-6 in Penix’s nine starts this season. He completed 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
Cousins has helped the Falcons win back-to-back games over Tampa Bay and Arizona leading into their home game against the Rams. Though Cousins has proved he can still be an effective starter when healthy, the starting role is reserved for Penix in 2026.
Robinson says he’s eager to see Penix continue to develop into a quarterback who can earn more comparisons to Stafford. Robinson was a sophomore at Oklahoma State and Stafford was a junior at Georgia when both attended the Manning quarterback camp and Robinson first saw what he believed to be unique talent.
“From the first time you just saw him throw a football, he’s arguably the most natural and talented thrower in the history of the game,” Robinson said. “I mean, if you’re wanting to look how to throw a football, it should look exactly like Matthew Stafford.”
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AP freelance writer Dan Greenspan contributed to this report.
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