With the starting job now his, Michael Penix Jr. wasted no time setting high expectations for the Falcons’ offense.
“The potential? We should be the best in the league,” Penix said after Thursday’s practice. “We got a great offensive line... Those guys work extremely hard in the trenches with coach Ledford leading them there. We should be unstoppable.”
That message landed with conviction. Penix enters camp as the clear QB1, taking over for Kirk Cousins after showing flashes of promise late last season. He started three games as a rookie, completing 61 of 105 passes for 775 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Now, with a full offseason under his belt and a growing connection with key playmakers like Kyle Pitts and Drake London, Penix is stepping into the spotlight.
Before fielding any questions from reporters at the press conference, Penix pointed toward the team’s plans for Pitts, Atlanta’s athletic tight end who’s finally healthy heading into a pivotal year.
“See we got KP the ball? Gonna be a lot of that,” he said with a grin.
Although the message may seem like typical training camp optimism, the young QB has already laid the groundwork with Atlanta’s top weapons, putting in offseason reps with Kyle Pitts and Drake London to strengthen what he calls the most important part of quarterback play: trust.
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“I try to lead by getting to know my guys first, because not everybody takes leadership the same way,” Penix said. “You’ve got to know your guys... not just on the field, but off the field as well.”
And that trust is beginning to take shape. Pitts was active throughout Thursday’s session, working under a modified training plan as the Falcons ease him back from an undisclosed injury that kept him out of the offseason program.
“It’s not that we’ll keep him out, but we’ll take him off of some things and take some things off of their plates to make sure we get things the right way,” head coach Raheem Morris told reporters, via ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
Penix said it’s clear Pitts is “feeling good,” and their growing connection is expected to be a central part of Zac Robinson’s offense.