Joel Klatt knows which national championship QB could help Broncos right away

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt sees a lot to like in the quarterbacks dueling in Monday night’s national-championship game: Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

But with the Broncos possibly diving into the quarterback pool in this year’s draft with the No. 12 overall pick, Klatt has a clear preference: the experienced Penix.

“I think J.J.’s extremely talented, but I believe that J.J. needs another year in school,” Joel Klatt said last week on Denver Sports/104.3 The Fan. “I think he needs to develop — in particular, the pocket-passing game — a little bit more.

“Whereas Penix, I would take him in the top five. I would take him in the top five tomorrow. I think he improves 13, 14, 15 teams next week if he was on their team.”

.@joelklatt says this on @DenverSportsCom about the draft prospects of J.J. McCarthy & Michael Penix Jr.:

Re: McCarthy: " Extremely talented, but I believe that J.J. needs another year in school."

Re: Penix: "I would take him in the top five … He’s a better version of Tua." pic.twitter.com/8jyizC0b1h

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) January 8, 2024

Presumably, that would include the Broncos, given where their quarterback position stands at the end of a tumultuous 8-9 season. Russell Wilson lost his job after 15 games, despite some solid base-level statistics — although the advanced metrics weren’t as kind to the 12-year veteran. Reserve Jarrett Stidham started the final two weeks and while he was more capable at running the scheme, he struggled with accuracy at times and the Broncos scored just 15.0 points per game in his two starts.

Which is why part of the comparison made by Joel Klatt was eye-opening.

“Let me put it this way — and I know this is going to sound crazy — he’s a better version of Tua (Tagovailoa),” Klatt said. “Like, if he’s on Miami’s team right now with Mike McDaniel, they’re more dangerous.”

WHAT ELSE JOEL KLATT LIKES ABOUT PENIX

Klatt acknowledged the extensive injury history for Penix, which includes two torn ACLs and injures to both shoulders during the course of a college career that saw him transfer from Indiana to Washington.

But the traits of Penix are intriguing, Klatt believes.

“I think Michael Penix is way underrated. I think the guy is elite. Elite, elite,” Klatt said. “Now, he’s going to get red flags because of his knee injuries, but man, when you watch him play, he is an elite passer of the football.”

And what’s more, he has poise.

“And here’s what I love about the way that he plays: It’s one, yes, he’s got great wide receivers and they’ve got a terrific offensive line that provides him time, but he doesn’t panic, even if he does get pressured. Texas pressured him 16 times in that game (the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1), and he only took one sack. He was a master at manipulating the pocket, getting himself in a position to throw the football down the field

“And not just run outside of the pocket, and try to dump the ball, but manipulate in order to get himself in a position to threaten the defense downfield with accuracy, and he did that several times.”

It’s the sort of collection of traits that would work well with a Sean Payton offense. Now the question is this: Would Penix be available for the Broncos to take at No. 12?