While Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett have garnered most of the attention in terms of top quarterback prospects, North Carolina’s Sam Howell remains a highly-touted option as well. Two of the teams who sent large delegations to see him at his recent pro day were the Commanders and Saints, per Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Steelers Heavily Scouting QB Prospects]
Pauline notes that the “big turnout” from Washington included executive VP Marty Hurney and several other staffers. The Commanders already have their starting signal-caller in Carson Wentz, whom they traded for days before the start of free agency. The price they paid – both in terms of the draft capital sent to Indianapolis and the fact that they picked up his full salary – signalled a strong commitment to the former No. 2 pick, who is under contract for three more years.
The Saints, meanwhile, had college scouting director Jeff Ireland on hand to see the former Tar Heel in person. After being in the competition for Deshaun Watson, New Orleans re-signed Jameis Winston on a two-year deal. Not long after, they also added a veteran backup in Andy Dalton.
Howell, a true junior, burst onto the scene with 38 touchdown passes in his freshman year. He improved in terms of completion percentage (68.1%) and yards per attempt (11.1) in the following campaign, but took a step back in production in 2021. Following the departure of receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome, along with the team’s dynamic RB duo of Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, Howell had a down year statistically.
As a result, many have dropped the six-foot-one, 220-pounder down a tier or so in this year’s QB rankings. Howell is generally rated closer to the likes of Matt Corral and Desmond Ridder than the aforementioned Willis and Pickett. Still, it wouldn’t come as a surprise for him to be selected at some point in the first round. That could leave the Commanders and Saints (who hold the 11th and 18th picks, respectively) in play for Howell, depending on what they saw of him last week.
This is going to be the wild card QB of this whole draft. He showed when he has talent around him what he can do. This past year he had a cupboard of nothing and still managed to have a decent year. I was hoping teams would have let him slip to the Lions in the 2nd round. I have a funny feeling he is 1st round bound. Throws a great deep ball and I think he will only get better with NFL help.
I am intrigued to see where he ends up because I think he could be the best QB in this draft.
With you on all of that, but also have zero idea what he’ll look like in the NFL. Might be my favorite gamble of the guys in this draft, but definitely a roll of the dice.
agree with these points, howell to me is the biggest wildcard of this whole draft class. the real second tier of qb selections will begin with him, but what team and where he is taken will have a very large impact on days 1 and 2
Please don’t
I’d rather take Howell in the second than any of these other QBs in the first.
Has a Derek Carr feel to him
Is it cuz he is very white with very dark eyebrows?
that would be why.
Leave it to Washington to trade for Wentz, take on that salary, announce he is the starter, and make a move to draft a QB. I mean Carson Wentz was a top tier QB until Philly drafted Jalen Hurts. Carson has yet to recover from that ego shot.
That strategy actually worked for them once. They paid a ton to draft RG3 and then they also drafted Kirk Cousins who turned into a franchise QB… this would be a very Washington move.
That was in the same draft.
I agree. This would be in the same offseason.
While I see your point, I wouldn’t exactly consider this the same strategy as drafting two quarterbacks. Wentz is not going to be in Washington for five years in all likelihood. In any free agent signing, even one with a long term option like his, there is an expectation that he’ll have to be replaced at some point sooner than a drafted player.the commitment level isn’t typically quite the same as to a drafted QB.
None of these quarterbacks are difference makers. Only Ridder played for anything significant this year.
Remind me what significant thing Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes played for in college? Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to bet too much on any of this year’s QBs, but I think that reasoning is silly.
Ridder and Howell seem like the only bets that may be worth it from the top layer of QBs, but they also both seem to be very dependent on where they land for their success in my mind. I don’t think either is a Day One starter (though Howell has done it before as a bright eyed freshman), but if they go to a place with a talented staff and someone in place to sit behind until they are ready it may not be a bad deal. Most importantly, it would have to a team that has the luxury of using a pick on a possible future contributor, not a team with the pressure to start someone immediately who likely won’t be ready.
Howell has a lot of intriguing traits, but he in some ways reminds me personally of Mayfield (not just his appearance). He was at his best with a solid HB tandem and is mobile, and his determination is one of his biggest strengths, but sometimes he can be a bit raw passing, especially when missing high on throws up the middle. On the right team he could be very good, and I’m not sure that the Commanders are stable enough to offer that yet.