Brady Henderson, ESPNMar 28, 2024, 07:29 PM ET
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Brady Henderson is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Henderson covers the Seattle Seahawks. He joined ESPN in 2017 covering the team for Seattle Sports 710-AM. You can follow him via Twitter @BradyHenderson.
SEATTLE — On his final throw Thursday, Michael Penix Jr. put a bow on his performance at the University of Washington pro day by unleashing a deep ball that traveled some 75 yards in the air for a completion, showing off the arm talent that has made him one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft.
What happened at the start of the workout might have actually been more significant.
That’s when Penix posted a sub-4.6-second time in the 40-yard dash, perhaps checking off an important box to the roughly 100 representatives from NFL teams on hand to watch him and several other Huskies who are expected to be selected next month.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, a handful of scouts clocked Penix’s lone run at 4.56 to 4.59.
“I’m a 4.4 guy, in my opinion,” Penix, the runner-up for the last season’s Heisman Trophy, said afterward. “Some people had 4.46, some people had 4.5, but that’s unofficial, so I’m good. I just showed I can run, so I feel good.”
Penix’s speed has been something of a question mark after he ran for all of 8 yards on 35 attempts over 15 games last season. He ran for 92 yards in 13 games in 2022 after his first four college seasons, all at Indiana, were cut short by injuries, including a pair of torn ACLs.
Like several other quarterbacks, Penix declined to run the 40 at the scouting combine last month. He ran only once Thursday, opting against a second attempt.
“I was only running one time to show I can run and that’s it,” he said. “I was done.”
Penix also posted a 36.5-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 10 feet, 5 inches — both of which were better than any other quarterback at the combine.
Penix, who has been widely projected to be drafted within the first two rounds, was asked whether he has been irritated by the talk about his athleticism.
“I ain’t irritated,” Penix said. “I just always want to prove myself right. The competitor in me, I’m going to show it, I’m going to showcase it, I’m going to write my own narrative.”
Penix’s 67 touchdown passes over the past two seasons were the fourth most in the country. He threw 36 TDs last year while leading the Huskies to the national championship game, which they lost to Michigan.
After his deep heave to end Thursday’s workout, Penix punctuated the completion with his go-to celebration, pretending to pull an arrow out of a quiver before launching it into the sky and then dropping the bow.
He was satisfied with his throwing session, save for a few misfires.
“I don’t like missing throws,” he said. “I missed like three throws, but I felt good, though. I felt good. Missing three throws out of 60, I can’t complain.”
Afterward, Penix was seen chatting with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Penix told ESPN that he has pre-draft visits scheduled with the Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers beginning next week.
Wide receiver Rome Odunze did not work out Thursday, opting instead to stand on his performance at the combine. Odunze, projected to be drafted early in the first round, told ESPN that the Giants flew him to East Rutherford, New Jersey, after the combine and that he has visits lined up with the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Chicago Bears.
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