Why Sam Howell could be Commanders’ best 2022 draft pick

The Washington Commanders‘ 2022 NFL Draft Class is complete, and it includes a late round pick that just might lead to long-term success at the QB position. After sliding into the 5th round, the Commanders couldn’t resist the value of drafting UNC QB Sam Howell. Could Howell be the dart that sticks for Washington?

Sam Howell was projected to be an early round option in the NFL Draft for the Commanders until the trade for Carson Wentz. Even after the signing, Washington still saw the potential in Howell as I guy who can come in with no pressure and learn from Carson Wentz who plays with a similar style of a strong arm and the ability to evade pass rushers when needed.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1391422962645954568?s=20&t=g6Ry9Dq9t1uTxDLLBH-Sgw

I know, these predictions aren’t always accurate, but Sam Howell was still very highly regarded as a pro QB going into his final season, but what changed?

Many people seem to believe that Sam Howell had a down year in 2021, but after watching the tape and applying the context of his 2021 season, it actually turned out to be his most impressive season for me. The UNC Tar Heels lost four explosive offensive weapons in the 2021 NFL Draft in Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome, Michael Carter and Javonte Williams, who produced 72% of Sam Howell’s passing stats in the 2020 season. Coming into his final season, Howell had his WR3 Josh Downs become his main target, while Tennessee transfer RB Ty Chandler started his lone season in a new offense.

Josh Downs had an historic season as Howell’s WR1 option, and became the fourth WR in ACC history to record over 100 catches in a single season, while Ty Chandler contributed in over 1,000 yards rushing. In the process of adjusting to a new look offense, Howell also had to adjust his game as a leader and QB.

According to Sports Reference Stat Tracking on Sam Howell, in the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined, Howell only rushed for a combined 181 yards, while compiling an impressive 828 rush yards in 2021.

At the Senior Bowl this year I had the opportunity to ask Sam Howell a couple questions on a couple occasions. I asked Sam if his increase in running the ball was by design, or more so just the new offense in which he replied, “It wan’t in the plan going into the season, it’s just something we did early on and had success with and continued to stick with. I didn’t shy away from it, I wanted to help the team in any way.”

He didn’t just run for a lot of yards, but showed his athletic ability but forcing the second-most missed tackles per attempt since 2014.

In addition to molding his game to help the team, he talked about how he had to step up as a leader to get the new guys up to speed on offense. He mentions how he learned a lot about himself as a football player, but also as a leader throughout the 2021 season and wanted teams to learn more about him as a person in the offseason because his tape tells all about his game.

Howell comes into Washington with a very familiar face that was mentioned earlier in Dyami Brown. When asked about his connection to Dyami Brown at the Senior Bowl, Howell replied “Dyami is awesome. Great friend of mine. Charlotte kid, we’re both from Charlotte. We spent a lot of time together, and he was awesome to play with. I talk to Dyami all the time, at least once or twice a week.

In what turned out to be a weaker QB class in the 2022 NFL Draft, Sam Howell came out as the most consistent passing QB when it came to production. Howell completed his 3 year career at UNC with 10,283 passing yards, 92 touchdowns, and only 23 interceptions.

With Carson Wentz’s contract totaling in what could be a clean cut next year, Sam Howell comes in with the opportunity to sit for one year, and possibly be the starter next year if the Wentz experiment doesn’t go as planned. In the meantime, there is currently no QB battle in Washington, but fans can enjoy some gorgeous throws from Sam Howell in training camp, and the preseason in what could be a glimpse in the future.