The Washington Commanders finished 0-3 in preseason, but fans were left with plenty of positives. Brian Robinson was shaping up to be the team’s preseason darling (and he probably still is) before his unfortunate accident, leaving fifth-round pick Sam Howell as the unquestioned star of Commanders preseason.
In three games (one start), Howell finished 43-of-69 for 547 yards and one touchdown and interception apiece. His 547 yards were the most of any quarterback this preseason, and he added 94 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
For what it’s worth, Howell could’ve finished with three passing touchdowns, but his receivers (looking at you, Dyami Brown) let him down in crucial moments.
Simply put, Washington couldn’t have asked for much more from the rookie gunslinger this preseason. Howell showed he probably has the highest ceiling in the Commanders’ quarterback room, but he still has to refine some key areas of his game before we can definitively say he is starting material.
3 areas Commanders QB Sam Howell needs to improve
3. Falling in love with the deep ball
Howell’s deep ball is the prettiest of this year’s QB class. He showed it off several times during training camp and his touch has fans buzzing.
With that said, Howell got a little too deep-ball-happy for our liking, especially in the first two preseason games. In Weeks 1 and 2, the former UNC starter completed one of seven attempts of 20 or more air yards for 22 yards.
In Week 3, Howell connected on two of his five attempts of 20 or more air yards … and it could’ve been three of 5 had Brown, his former top target in Chapel Hill, hauled in what would’ve (or should’ve) been a walk-in touchdown.
We love Howell’s confidence, but he has to realize this isn’t the ACC anymore. The talent of defensive backs has increased ten-fold, to say the least, and very few quarterbacks complete deep passes at an efficient clip.
Yes, Howell has the arm strength to make it happen, but we’d much rather see him improve his intermediate efficiency instead of taking consistent shots downfield.
We already knew his throwing power is elite and his biggest knock coming out of college was his footwork, placement and timing.
2. Setting his feet to throw on the run
Howell showed an elite ability to create for himself on the run this preseason. That shouldn’t surprised anyone who followed him at North Carolina, but he had one play against Baltimore that gave us flashbacks to Taylor Heinicke’s staple Houdini act inside the pocket to escape a sack and run for a first down.
While Howell is a gamer of the highest degree and knows how to elude pressure, we noticed he doesn’t set himself up to throw on the run when he’s scrambling. We all know how important throwing on the run has become in today’s NFL (Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers have mastered this art), and Howell needs to do a better job of putting himself in passing positions while he’s evading a rush.
It’s nice to be able to outrun defensive linemen, but linebackers and especially defensive backs are an entirely different monster, especially when they’re running downfield full-stop with an exposed quarterback in their crosshairs.
Furthermore, it’s incredibly difficult for DBs to maintain coverage on a broken play when receivers are breaking back to the ball. There’s an opportunity to pick up significant air yards on said plays, but Howell has be in a position to make the throw first and foremost.
It’s more of a footwork issue than anything and that can be refined by putting in extra work after practice and Howell is a student of the game.
Plenty of time to nip this issue in the bud.
1. Taking unnecessary sacks
We’ll be the first to admit that Washington’s offensive line was a turnstile against Baltimore. Howell was sacked five times for 26 yards and it could’ve been a lot more if he wasn’t a mobile quarterback. Having said that, the rookie has a tendency to hold the ball too long and take unnecessary sacks.
It was a knock on him coming out of college and is still a huge weakness; perhaps his biggest as a quarterback. Carson Wentz struggles with the same thing and the issue has traveled with him throughout his career in Philadelphia and Indianapolis.
Whereas Wentz has refused to reinvent this aspect of his game, Howell is only 21 and seems motivated to turn his pitfalls into strengths.
In Howell’s defense, it was the preseason and he was likely trying to do too much to impress the Commanders’ coaching staff, but he needs to learn when to throw the ball away instead of navigating pressure and trying to create something that isn’t there, whether it be with his arm or legs.
There’s nothing more frustrating than a QB taking an unnecessary sack and the sooner Howell cleans up this part of his game, the sooner we can consider him the franchise’s potential quarterback of the future.