Before Sam Howell was an NFL player, he was the starting quarterback for the University of North Carolina where he had a great sophomore year, passing for 3,587 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions.
After his sophomore season in 2020, many mock drafts had Howell being one of the first 5 selections in the 2021 draft. Howell decided to return to college for his junior year and that would not turn out to be a good idea. Most of Sam Howell’s weapons on offense like Dyami Brown, who had 1099 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2020, declared for the NFL draft. With fewer weapons on offense, Howell didn’t have as good of a year as he did the year prior. In 2021, Howell finished the season with 3,056 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. So when Howell declared for the 2022 NFL draft, most teams passed on him and took other quarterbacks like Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder. Eventually, Howell fell to the 5th round of the draft and with the first pick of the 5th round the Washington Commanders drafted him.
Unfortunately for Howell, he would have to wait most of the 2022 season to make his NFL debut because he was the third string quarterback on Washington’s roster with Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke being the first and second stringers. However, Howell was in luck because Washington missed the playoffs and in their very last game, they decided to give Sam Howell a shot. Howell had a solid game, completing 11 of his 19 passes for 169 yards. He also threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Washington’s head coach Ron Rivera saw enough out of Howell to make him the starter for the 2023 season over veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who they signed in free agency. “I think [Sam Howell’s] support system is outstanding, so that gives me reason to be confident in us,” Ron Rivera said when asked about his decision to start Howell.
In Washington’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, Howell completed 19 out of his 31 pass attempts for 201 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Howell also rushed for 11 yards including a 6-yard touchdown run that would help Washington win the game in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. Howell continued to have positives this season, like leading the league in passing yards for a few weeks and surprising the Denver Broncos with a comeback win in Week 2.
Even though he had some highs this season, he also had a problem with throwing interceptions. Sam Howell may have led the league in passing yards for some time but he finished the regular season with the most interceptions in the league with 21.
Some people may argue that Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy loves to pass the ball, in fact the Washington Commanders led the league in pass attempts per game this year with 38. Howell also led the league in sacks, taking 65 of them, and average of 3.8 sacks per game. “The [offensive] line sucks,” sophomore Joseph LeGloahec said when asked about the problem. Other students, like sophomore Will Herman blame Howell’s “pocket mobility.”
Washington currently owns the number 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and there are quarterbacks like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels who they can take with their first pick, though the team’s first order of business will be to find a new head coach after they fired Rivera the day after the regular season ended. But what do you think? Should Washington stick with Howell?
