Ranking the Commanders’ top preseason performers
By Jerry Trotta
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.
Next. Biggest overreactions to the Commanders' preseason. dark