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Michael Penix — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 13.36 points per game in 2025, usage worth 16.2.

26 years old · 2 seasons of experience · 2024 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.

The offense he plays in, 2026

Atlanta Falcons returns 4 of 6 continuity slots, replacing hc, oc. Michael Penix Jr at quarterback, Kevin Stefanski as head coach, Tommy Rees calling it. The offense projects to 32.8 pass attempts a game at medium confidence and 27.2 rushes.

In: Tua Tagovailoa (qb2), Olamide Zaccheaus (wr2), Zachariah Branch (wr3), Jahan Dotson (wr4), Brian Robinson Jr (rb2), Tyler Goodson (rb3), Carter Nathan (rb4), Austin Hooper (te2). Out: Kirk Cousins (qb2), Darnell Mooney (wr2), David Sills V (wr4), Ray-Ray McCloud III (wr5), Dylan Drummond (wr6), Khadarel Hodge (wr7), Tyler Allgeier (rb2), Nathan Carter (rb3), Charlie Woerner (te2).

The projected target split across the offense:

Drake London24.2%
Kyle Pitts16.9%
Bijan Robinson14.5%
Austin Hooper10.3%
Zachariah Branch8.4%
Olamide Zaccheaus7.4%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: Bijan Robinson has been able to produce redardless of poor QB play in ATL. Drake London has had flashes & the talent is clearly there, but needs better QB play. Perhaps Penix Jr fully recovers from 2nd ACL tear & proves he is the franchise QB. OR there is a SMALL chance Tua turns his career around and can elevate this offense. Unlikely. Despite what most fans think, the falcons have not committed to a starting QB, there is a decent chance their franchise QB is neither Penix or Tua.

Key additions: Tua Tagovailoa signed on 1 year veteran minumum deal. WR Jahan Dotson 2 year $15M deal. TE Austin Hooper 1 year deal to back up Pitts. WR Olamide Zaccheaus returns to ATL. OL Jawaan Taylor signed 1 year deal. Zachariah Branch WR Georgia 3rd Round draft pick.

Key departures: Drew Dalman (starting Center) left to Chicago Bears & RT Kaleb McGary retired aftr missing entire 2025 season. Elijah Wilkinson Starting RT left in free agency. Kirk Cousins left to Las Vegas. Tyler Allgeier left to Arizona. WR Darnell Mooney released after regression & heads to NY Giants.

Notes: Falcons signed Tua Tagovailoa after release from Dolphins. Penix may be ready week 1 but possible he is no longer the starter. This will be determined in camp. New HC: Kevin Stefanski from Browns. Tommy Rees is new OC. Followed Stefanski from Cleveland. Bijan & London are core offensive players. Pitts wants long term exension, but was franchise tagged (could be traded). Branch round 3 Georgia WR adds speed & could produce early. Brian Robinson Jr is a valuable handcuff for Bijan Robinson but shouldn't have stand alone value. London clear WR1, Zaccheaus returns in free agency. Jahan Dotson (former 1st round pick) added in free agency. Zachariah Branch could see large volume as a rookie if develops quickly. QB play may still hold team back. Olamide Zaccheaus is a player that should be rostered in all leagues as a real sleeper. Highly productive player in Chicago that COULD pop early if Branch is a slow bloomer & Dotson is a nothing burger.

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Michael Penix Jr returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (32.1 att/g); Regressed 53% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 32.8 att/g; New OC Tommy Rees — pass rate and tempo may shift; New HC Kevin Stefanski.

Offensive environment: ATL rates 21.5 against a league average of 23, 1.5 below it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season+1 · neutral
Weeks 1–6+2.1 · easier
Weeks 12–17-1.4 · neutral
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)+5.6 · easier

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — blended production + pedigree. The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Mac Jones202212.176%-37.9%
Mac Jones202113.276%-17.5%
Kenny Pickett20239.276%-36.5%
Will Levis202311.374%-26.3%
Baker Mayfield202112.972%-27.4%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 0 gained value, 5 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,00020252026
Monthly superflex value, 2024-03 to 2026-07. Down 18% across the series, peaking at 5,458.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2024, round 1, pick 8 by ATL
CollegeWashington
Age at draft24
Height6′2″
Weight216 lb

The record, season by season

2025 · ATL · 9 games

His best game was Week 1 against TB — 24.02 PPR on 0 targets and a 0% target share, in a game that finished 20-23. His worst was Week 3 against CAR at 3.78, on 0 targets, final score 0-30. Across 9 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 3 times. In the 5 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 16.9; in the 4 decided by more, 9. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 16.2 points per game. He scored 13.36, 17.7% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1TB20-2324.02062120%100%
2MIN22-65.301-100%100%
3CAR0-303.7802900%77%
4WAS34-2718.7204220%100%
6BUF24-1414.602610%100%
7SF10-2012.2402610%100%
9NE23-2422.74021930%100%
10IND25-3110.9801-110%100%
11CAR27-307.901900%62%

Production

Carries21
Rushing yards70
Touchdowns10
Points per game13.36
Yards per carry3.33

Role

Snap share93.22%
Target share0%
Air-yards share0%

Efficiency

Receiving EPA per game0
Rushing EPA per game0.79

Scoring position

Red-zone targets0
Red-zone target share0%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share4.2%
Goal-line carry share8.7%
Expected receiving TDs0
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck0
Expected rushing TDs0.92

Who else ate

The offense threw it 545 times. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Kyle Pitts22.78%
Drake London21.62%
Bijan Robinson19.88%
Darnell Mooney13.9%
David Sills6.95%
Tyler Allgeier3.09%

Blowouts against close games

1 of his 9 games were blowouts, 3.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 3.78 in those and 16.87 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2024 · ATL · 5 games

His best game was Week 18 against CAR — 24.98 PPR on 0 targets and a 0% target share, in a game that finished 38-44. His worst was Week 7 against SEA at 0.56, on 0 targets, final score 14-34. Across 5 games he cleared 20 points 1 time and came in under 8 points 3 times.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 10.5 points per game. He scored 8.82, 16% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
7SEA14-340.5600000%10%
11DEN6-380.9600000%22%
16NYG34-76.3804300%100%
17WAS24-3011.2202310%100%
18CAR38-4424.9801530%100%

Production

Carries7
Rushing yards11
Touchdowns4
Points per game8.82
Yards per carry1.57

Role

Snap share66.4%
Target share0%
Air-yards share0%

Efficiency

Receiving EPA per game0
Rushing EPA per game0.12

Scoring position

Red-zone targets0
Red-zone target share0%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share2.3%
Goal-line carry share8.3%
Expected receiving TDs0
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck0
Expected rushing TDs0.85

Who else ate

The offense threw it 559 times. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Drake London29.31%
Darnell Mooney19.67%
Ray-Ray McCloud16.14%
Kyle Pitts13.73%
Bijan Robinson13.36%
Tyler Allgeier2.41%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Michael Penix3014.190%
Kirk Cousins200.760%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 5 games were blowouts, 17.9% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 2.63 in those and 18.1 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

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