1. Sam Howell
Howell was without question Washington’s top preseason performer.
We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but the fifth-round pick showed glimpses of a future franchise quarterback. He’s still at least a year away from being trusted in such a role, but the early indicators are incredibly promising.
The Commanders nearly ended the Ravens’ preseason winning streak Saturday night and Howell is largely the reason for that. He finished 24-of-35 for 280 yards and one touchdown, adding 62 yards on just eight attempts. Pretty impressive numbers for a guy who was under duress all night due to poor OL play.
In three games, Howell completed 62.3% of his passes for 545 yards, the most of any quarterback this preseason, and one TD and INT apiece. He finished with just three turnover-worthy plays, per PFF, and was sacked a whopping nine times. His 7.9 yards per pass attempt might just be his most impressive stat.
The future is indeed bright for the former Tar Heel.