Hawai’i to Hotlanta: The Connection’s Heating Up For The Atlanta Falcons' Offense
In 2028, the
Atlanta Falcons are no longer just a scrappy team trying to rebuild. At 7-3 and surging toward their best season in years, Atlanta’s high-flying offense has become one of the NFL’s most talked-about units — and at the heart of it is a reunion that started thousands of miles away in
Honolulu.
Quarterback
Michael Penix Jr. is having a career year, silencing critics and turning heads league-wide. Through 10 games, Penix leads the NFL in completions (253) and attempts (370), ranks third in passing yards (2,591), and has tossed 20 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. But ask anyone in the Falcons’ building why things are clicking, and the answer comes fast: it’s the chemistry — and history — between two wideouts who once shared a sideline at
Hawai’i.
Enter
Jozif Farrakhan and
Steven McBride — former
Rainbow Warriors turned NFL stars, and the heart of a suddenly lethal Falcons passing attack.
Farrakhan, the 2026 Heisman winner and top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, has already lived up to the hype. With 79 receptions, 880 yards, and 11 touchdowns through ten games, the Croydon-born phenom is not just Atlanta’s WR1 — he’s an All-Pro in the making. What makes it more poetic is that right alongside him is McBride, his old mentor-turned-running mate, who has quietly carved out a career of his own. McBride, who went undrafted after leaving Hawai’i in 2025, fought for a roster spot and is now thriving with 62 catches, 633 yards, and 4 touchdowns this season.
It’s a storyline that feels ripped from a script.
Back in 2024, Farrakhan was a freshman at Hawai’i and McBride was a senior. The duo helped lead the Rainbow Warriors to a 6-6 season and a bowl berth in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona — a narrow loss to West Virginia. After McBride graduated, Farrakhan stayed one more season, racking up 99 catches, 2,166 yards, and 24 touchdowns on a struggling 4-8 team before transferring to LSU. There, his legend took shape — a national title, a Heisman trophy, and a rise to the No. 1 overall pick as the first UK-born player ever to go atop the NFL Draft.
While Farrakhan’s path was paved in gold, McBride took the long road. Undrafted and overlooked, he signed with Atlanta and worked through the depth chart, earning trust, reps, and ultimately a starting spot.
Now, the pair are back together — and wrecking defenses like it’s 2024 all over again.
“Mandem don’t realize Steven was the first one to pattern me, feel me? Back then he showed man how to be serious. Now we’re back on smoke innit.” said Farrakhan after Atlanta’s Week 10 win.
“Same link, same chaos. That’s braddah hood right there.”
For Penix Jr., the connection is a quarterback’s dream.
“Those guys run their routes like they’re still on the same wavelength — because they are,” said Penix.
“All I have to do is put the ball where it needs to be, and they make me look good.”
There’s a long way to go in the NFC playoff race, but Atlanta’s identity is already clear: an offense built on trust, timing, and the resilience of two receivers who once lit up Saturday nights in the islands — and are now taking over Sundays in the NFL.
The Rainbow Warriors didn’t win that bowl game back in 2025. But in 2028, they just might win the NFC South.