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Sam Howell NFL Draft Profile
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Sam Howell Scouting ReportSam possesses decent athletic ability. He evades pressure in the pocket and uses his legs to extend plays. There were various examples last season of him utilizing his athleticism and toughness to find the end zone. Sam does an exceptional job of reading the defense pre-snap. This allows him to routinely get the ball out of his hands with incredible quickness. Howell generates amazing zip on short throws, firing the ball to his receivers with little effort. He can make all the throws and flashes outstanding accuracy on intermediate and long throws, putting his receivers in an ideal position to succeed. Howell also showcases impressive ability to throw on the run, keeping his eyes downfield as he evades pressure. |
Areas for ImprovementHowell needs to be more consistent. There were too many examples in the games studied where he underthrew, overthrew, or was wide of his intended target. This is potentially due to him trying too hard to generate velocity on passes, particularly further down the field and when trying to thread passes into tighter windows. If he is to develop into a top-tier quarterback at the NFL level, Howell will need to read the entire field. He often locks onto one side, which results in him forcing throws to receivers that aren’t viable options.
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Sam Howell Career at North CarolinaThe combination of Longo and Howell, alongside some dynamic playmakers, made the North Carolina offense one of the most explosive in the nation. When Howell debuted against South Carolina, the young quarterback became the first-ever true freshman to start a season opener under center for the Tar Heels. He began his career with 2 touchdowns and 245 passing yards in a win. Howell developed an early reputation for his accuracy, not throwing an interception in his first three games. Once Howell found his comfort level as a college quarterback, he opened up his game to devastating effect. Against Georgia Tech, he set program records for passing attempts (51), completions (33), and passing yardage (371). Howell followed up with 5 touchdowns against Virginia Tech — a program record for a freshman. Howell had six games with over 300 passing yards as a freshman, totaling 3,641 yards. His 38 passing touchdowns in 2019 set an FBS record for passes by a true freshman. The accolades rolled in as Howell was named the ACC Offensive and Rookie Player of the Year and earned FWAA Freshman All-American honors.
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Sam Howell NFL Draft Player ProfileMuch like at Sun Valley, there was no sophomore slump for Howell last season. Despite a reduced schedule due to the global situation, Howell came up just 55 yards short of his 2019 yardage total. He saw increases in both his completion percentage and yards per attempt. Furthermore, Howell improved as a dual-threat with an uptick in both rushing yards and touchdowns. Howell’s 30 passing touchdowns led the ACC, with his 68 touchdown passes through two seasons being the most in conference history. Six of those came in an awe-inspiring performance against Wake Forest, where Howell strapped the team to his back late in the game. He added a rushing touchdown and 571 total yards, part of a school-record 742 total yards of offense. The performance earned Howell the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week award and the ACC QB of the Week. Not content with throwing and rushing for touchdowns, Howell became the first UNC player since 2014 to pass, rush, and receive a touchdown when he tallied the trifecta in a regular-season concluding victory over Miami. Howell finished the season as a second-team All-ACC honoree and Manning Award finalist, as well as 2022 NFL Draft watchlists as a potential first-round pick.
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