FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Michael Penix Jr. suited up to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon, he hit a milestone: The completion of his rookie year.
OK. So, not actually. This is Penix's third season as a professional. But due to the situation in which he was drafted into in 2024 with Kirk Cousins as the starter, coupled with his season-ending knee injury in 2025, meant he didn't reach that 17th start until seven weeks into 2026.
"His story is very unique," safety Jessie Bates III said. "It tells you a lot about the person he is."
Bates went on to speak even more highly of Penix's performance so far this season.
"When No. 9 is out there, this team is a completely different football team," Bates said, "and I really truly believe that he is a franchise quarterback."
There were three quarterbacks taken before Penix in the 2024 NFL Draft — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. There were three quarterbacks who were often linked to Penix as his player comps coming out of his final year at Washington — Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa. There's also a former quarterback in the Falcons own building who knows a thing or two about putting together a pretty solid career — Matt Ryan.
At one point or another, all of these quarterbacks were within conversations about being a franchise quarterback. It's a conversation Penix is in now.
So, how does Penix's first 17 starts of his career compare to the quarterbacks listed above?
Well, we compiled the stats.
And note, they're just stats.
They can show you a lot. They can make big data feel more digestible. They can give you raw comparisons.
What they can't do is tell you much of anything about scheme, personnel available, coaching decisions and changes, coordinator preferences, how defenses play a particular guy. Nor can stats alone tell you what a player may become. All of those things? They're the story within the stats. So, make sure to keep that in mind.
| Player | Michael Penix Jr. | Caleb Williams | Jayden Daniels | Drake Maye |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Record | 7-10 | 5-12 | 12-5 | 6-11 |
| Attempts | 520 | 562 | 480 | 483 |
| Completions | 320 | 351 | 331 | 334 |
| Completion percentage | 61.5% | 62.5% | 69% | 69.2% |
| Yards | 3,876 | 3,541 | 3,568 | 3,515 |
| Avg. completions per game | 18.8 | 20.6 | 19.5 | 19.6 |
| Avg. yards per game | 228 | 208.3 | 209.9 | 206.8 |
| Rate | 92.3 | 87.8 | 100.1 | 94.4 |
| Touchdowns | 21 | 20 | 25 | 22 |
| Interceptions | 7 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| Sacks | 25 | 68 | 47 | 49 |
| Offensive snaps | 1,075 | 1,123 | 1,062 | 973 |
| Player | Michael Penix Jr. | Matt Ryan | Matthew Stafford | Justin Herbert | Tua Tagovailoa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Record | 7-10 | 12-5 | 7-10 | 7-10 | 11-7 |
| Attempts | 520 | 470 | 634 | 683 | 563 |
| Completions | 320 | 287 | 358 | 458 | 379 |
| Completion percentage | 61.5% | 61.1% | 56.5% | 67.1% | 67.3% |
| Yards | 3,876 | 3,669 | 4,019 | 5,011 | 3,750 |
| Avg. completions per game | 18.8 | 16.9 | 37.3 | 26.9 | 21.1 |
| Avg. yards per game | 228 | 215.8 | 236.4 | 294.8 | 236.4 |
| Rate | 92.3 | 88.5 | 75.6 | 96.7 | 91.4 |
| Touchdowns | 21 | 18 | 30 | 33 | 23 |
| Interceptions | 7 | 11 | 24 | 13 | 11 |
| Sacks | 25 | 19 | 33 | 19 | 32 |
Against the 49ers Sunday afternoon, Penix threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns. So, it's brought back the franchise quarterback conversation.
Speaking on NFL Network earlier in the day Monday, national reporter Ian Rapoport said point blank: Going into the 2026 season, the "only real question for the franchise" was simply: "Is Michael Penix a franchise quarterback?"
The early returns?
"Michael Penix Jr. is going a very long way in making life very, very easy for those in the Atlanta Falcons organization," Rapoport said, "knowing they have a guy at quarterback."
For what its worth, Bates (from inside that very building) concurs.
"You can sleep good at night when you have Michael Penix playing quarterback for you," the veteran safety said.
How far does this take Penix? There's still a long season ahead, but the dominoes are falling.
Celebrate with the Atlanta Falcons on Victory Monday after the Week 7 win against the previously undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
