ESPN: Michael Penix Jr. Helped Himself the Most Among QBs at Combine Before NFL Draft

First, Michael Penix Jr. led Washington to the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Now, he is making excellent impressions and moving up NFL draft boards ahead of his professional career.

ESPN's Jordan Reid said Tuesday (1:20 mark) he believes Penix helped himself the most among all the quarterbacks during the NFL Scouting Combine, pointing out he "was throwing absolute lasers" and was able to make "every single throw possible."

Reid's assessment came after ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Sunday's SportsCenter that teams "felt pretty good" about Penix's performance at the combine.

"The measurables were good," Fowler said. "Hands 10.5, so a cold-weather team, if you want to get your hands on Penix, you can do that. He's in a good spot for sure. We'll see if he can sneak into the first round but certainly he's a player who's trending upward right now."

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Penix to be the No. 44 overall pick in its latest mock draft, which was just behind Oregon's Bo Nix at No. 42. It also had four quarterbacks going in the top 10 in Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy.

Penix's ability to perhaps separate himself from Nix could ultimately be the difference between going in the second round and toward the end of the first round.

He took steps toward doing just that at the combine and will likely have more opportunities to do so during his pro day.