Michael Penix reportedly meeting with Patriots on Tuesday
FOXBORO -- Another day, another quarterback visit for the Patriots. On Tuesday, it will be former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. making a pre-draft visit to Gillette Stadium.
Penix was in town Monday night and had dinner with the Patriots ahead of his formal meeting with the team Tuesday at Gillette Stadium, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. This will be the first meeting between the two sides in the pre-draft process, as the Pats did not meet with Penix at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Only director of college scouting Camren Williams attended Penix's Pro Day in Washington.
At 23 years old, Penix is older than the other quarterbacks in the draft. He battled injuries during his four-year stint at Indiana before serving as Washington's starter the last two seasons. He was 25-3 in his 28 starts for the Huskies, completing 65.4 percent of his passes for 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns to 19 interceptions. Throughout his college career, Penix connected on 63.3 percent of his passes for nearly 14,000 yards, 96 touchdown passes, and 34 interceptions over 49 game for the Huskies and the Hoosiers.
Penix was the Heisman Trophy runner-up last year after throwing for 4,900 yards and 36 touchdowns, leading Washington to the National Championship. But the lefty struggled in that game against Michigan's stout defense, with Penix completing just 27 of his 51 passes and getting picked off twice in the 34-13 defeat.
He didn't have a very good Senior Bowl, but did bounce back with a decent showing at the Combine. There are some injury concerns with Penix, who had two ACL tears while at Indiana, but the Patriots will get a much better look at his medicals during Tuesday's visit.
With Penix in town, the Patriots will have hosted four quarterbacks at Gillette during the pre-draft process. LSU's Jayden Daniels, UNC's Drake Maye, and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy previously visited with the Patriots.
New England holds the third overall pick in next week's NFL Draft, and could take any of those three aforementioned quarterbacks with the pick. Penix is expected to go a little later in the draft, likely in the middle to later portion of the first round, but Tuesday's visit shows the Patriots are doing their due diligence on all potential quarterbacks.
