Mel Kiper Jr. believes Michael Penix Jr. will be a first round pick if he can 'reconcile the medical'

There are a trio of quarterbacks who seem locked in as the first three picks of the NFL Draft. There is much talk about a fourth leaping into the top five. And then you have Michael Penix Jr.

NFL draft scouts probably still are trying to figure out what to do with Penix, the Heisman runnerup who led the Washington Huskies to a national championship berth. ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper said teams still are trying to reconcile whether his potentially bad knees could stomp out the pro potential of his arm.

The top four are relatively easy to label with pre-draft hyperbole. Caleb Williams is the can’t miss, generational talent. Jayden Daniels is the dashing playmaker. Drake Maye is the big-armed throwback who looks the part. And J.J. McCarthy could be an old-school Raider with his “just win” swagger.

But Penix was a sixth-year senior who lost chunks of his seasons early in his career to severe knee and shoulder injuries.

“I think Michael Penix Jr., if you can reconcile the medical, he’s a first-round caliber quarterback,” Kiper said in a NFL Draft teleconference this week. “It’s just the four injuries at Indiana, are they gonna prevent you from drafting him? Or if … you can reconcile it and you’re okay with the medical, he’s a first round-caliber player.”

The NFL Draft could feature six quarterbacks selected in the first round when it kicks off April 25. That would tie an NFL record that dates back to 1983. That year’s draft class featured three future Pro Football Hall of Famers in John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly.

But if this year’s class ties the one from 41 years ago, it needs Penix and Oregon’s Bo Nix to slip into the first round. However, you can pick up some clues as to whether either Penix or Nix is first-round bound. They will not be on hand for the NFL Draft festivities in Detroit. No one wants a repeat of last year, when Will Levis and his family sat in the green room for the entire first round. He left the draft and headed home to Connecticut before the Titans drafted him early in the second round. The former Kentucky star ended the season as the starter at Tennessee.

The oddsmakers believe Penix is destined for the Raiders, a team with the 13th pick of the first round. Las Vegas released Jimmy Garoppolo and signed Gardner Minshew in free agency. The Raiders already have Aidan O’Connell on the roster. There is room for a high-value rookie.

Meanwhile, Kiper thinks the Rams will try for Penix, with LA knowing it eventually needs a replacement for Matthew Stafford.