Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. and other lefthanded quarterbacks in NFL history Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY September 14, 2025 at 11:56 PM 0 The Atlanta Falcons drafted quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the first round, No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
- - Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. and other left-handed quarterbacks in NFL history
Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY September 14, 2025 at 11:56 PM
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The Atlanta Falcons drafted quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the first round, No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
A standout college player at Washington, Penix led the country in passing yards and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2023. He's entering his first full season as a starter and suits up in prime time against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.
Astute viewers may notice something a little different about Penix on the broadcast compared to other quarterbacks around the NFL.
He's one of just two starting quarterbacks league-wide who are left handed (the other is the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa). Given that roughly 10-12% of the world's population is left-handed, he's helping the NFL average more accurately reflect humanity.
He's not the first notable left-handed quarterback in NFL history. He's also surrounded by multiple lefties on the Falcons' offense.
Best left-handed QBs in NFL history
Steve Young
Young has the mantle of greatest left-handed quarterback in NFL history and will keep it for a long time. The Pro Football Hall of Famer won two NFL MVPs and a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers.
Young didn't take over as a full-time starter in San Francisco until 1991, his age-30 season. He made up for that late start by leading the NFL in completion percentage five times and touchdowns four times. The three-time first-team All-Pro is one of the top quarterbacks of the 1990s and
Ken Stabler
The "Snake" is the only other southpaw in the Hall of Fame alongside Young. The No. 2 overall pick in the 1968 NFL Draft, Stabler spent a decade with the then-Oakland Raiders. He led the Raiders to a Super Bowl in 1977 and earned NFL MVP honors in 1974.
By the time he retired, Stabler had tallied four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro honors (one first-team, one second-team). The Hall of Fame included him alongside legends Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw on the All-Decades team for the 1970s.
Boomer Esiason
Esiason earned MVP honors in 1988 during his decade-long stretch with the Cincinnati Bengals. The four-time Pro Bowler earned his lone first-team All-Pro nod that season as well as the Bengals made Super Bowl 23.
That loss to the 49ers proved to be Cincinnati's last Super Bowl berth until Joe Burrow and company ended that streak in 2021.
Michael Vick
Another Falcons star, Vick was an electric player for Atlanta in the early 2000s. He's one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history with more than 22,000 passing yards and the all-time career record in yards per rush attempt at 7.0.
Jim Zorn
Zorn was the first starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. He and Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent were the franchise's first stars. Zorn was a second-team All-Pro in 1978.
Atlanta Falcons' left-handed players
Penix is one of just two left-handed quarterbacks in the NFL. Even more rare? The player snapping to him is a lefty, too. Starting center Ryan Neuzil gives Atlanta an unusual left-handed quarterback-center combination.
Penix's top wide receiver is also a lefty. Drake London is left-handed and showed as much with a 22-yard pass to Jonnu Smith in 2023.
Falcons did two funky WR plays in a row but the Drake London to Jonnu Smith pass works because of course pic.twitter.com/IXlE84IzRN
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) October 12, 2023
Okay, one more: Falcons' leading rusher Bijan Robinson is also left-handed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Falcons' Michael Penix joins list of left-handed NFL QBs
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