Sam Howell’s place in the draft may be questioned but there’s no doubt in his NFL value
One of the first things Mack Brown did when he was hired at North Carolina in November 2018 was watch video of Sam Howell, one of the nation’s top unsigned prospects.
If Brown was going to change the direction of the program, which had hit rock bottom, he needed a quarterback.
He saw the throws and the plays Howell made on film at Sun Valley High School in Indian Trial and was impressed.
“I had to go,” Brown told The Observer in a phone interview recently. “I was at Sun Valley High School the first day they let me.”
The rest is history. Howell eventually signed with the Tar Heels, and as a freshman became a star, helping lead the Tar Heels to their first winning record in three years.
Now, three years later, he’s preparing for the NFL draft in California and hopes to hear his name called on Day 1.
As the Carolina Panthers continue to search for their franchise quarterback, they will be scouting and watching Howell closely at the NFL combine next month. However, if they’re interested in drafting him, trading back would be in their best interest. While there’s no consensus on where any of these quarterbacks stand in the draft, most draft experts have Howell going either late in the first round or early in the second.
The Panthers have the sixth overall pick and don’t have another pick until the fourth round.
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had Howell going 28th overall to the Detroit Lions in his latest mock draft.
Brown said Howell has no hobbies. He said he’s doing one of two things when he wasn’t in class: Studying football or going to church.
Losing a lot of offense
At the Senior Bowl earlier this month, Howell did some good things.
ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid, who has Howell going 20th overall in his latest mock draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers, said in an interview the 6-foot-1, 225-pound quarterback was steady throughout Senior Bowl.
“The deep ball and accuracy are clearly his best attributes,” Reid told The Observer.
But there were also some concerns. One AFC scout said he felt like Howell was pressing too much during the game. When pressured, he’d scramble instead of dumping it off to his running back on a check down.
The scout said one of the things Howell will have to improve is trusting the pocket and making plays as a pocket passer instead of taking off and running so early.
“Because he has a good arm,” the scout said. “He’s accurate and he’s an athlete.”
That was also an issue during his junior season at UNC. Statistically, Howell didn’t have his best season this past year. He threw for 3,056 yards and 24 touchdowns, the fewest of his three-year career. He also had nine interceptions, a career-high, and it caused his draft stock to tumble from a top-10 pick to potentially a second-round pick.
In his final game as a Tar Heel, he threw for 205 yards and one touchdown in a loss to South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Brown and UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo attribute his drop-off to the talent they lost from 2020 to 2021, as well as the offensive line. Howell lost his top four weapons after the 2020 season. Wide receivers Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome and running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams were selected in the 2021 NFL draft. All four of those players had at least one 1,000-yard season.
“We lost 4,200 yards of offense,” Brown said. “That’s a whole lot.”
With the loss of talented players, Howell had to do more by himself, including running the football. He had 828 yards rushing and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2021. Howell told reporters at the Senior Bowl that he was learning that he doesn’t have to do everything.
“He has no intention of being an 800-yard rusher in the NFL,” Longo said. “But he’s a competitor and he was willing to do wanted to do whatever it took to help us win.”
Height concerns
Another one of the concerns some have with Howell is his height. He’s listed at 6-foot-1, which is fairly short for a quarterback. The concern is whether he’ll be able to see over offensive linemen who are 6-5, 6-6 and 6-7, and whether he’ll be able to avoid passes being batted at the line of scrimmage.
But Longo said though he wouldn’t compare the talent level of the offensive linemen to those in the NFL. But UNC’s offensive linemen were of similar size, Longo said, and Howell never had a problem.
He likens Howell to former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was 6-foot.
“From a skill-set standpoint, he is Drew Brees,” Longo said. “Everybody compares him to Baker Mayfield, but I don’t think he’s the same type of player as Baker.”
At UNC, Howell set multiple passing records. He’s the all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, total touchdowns and total yards.
Howell first became a prominent name on the college scene after his freshman year. After leading the Tar Heels to an 8-4 record as a sophomore, which included his second consecutive season with 3,500 yards passing and 30 passing touchdowns, Howell began 2021 on the Heisman watch list.
He was at his best late in games. His arm strength gives him the ability to stretch the field, which is something teams covet in today’s NFL. During his freshman season, Howell had 13 touchdowns and no interceptions in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, and three fourth-quarter comebacks. As a sophomore, he had seven touchdowns and no interceptions in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Longo said Howell’s demeanor doesn’t change. He remains calm in pressure situations.
“Two years ago, we fell behind by 21 to Wake Forest and he brought us back and we won the game by 14,” Longo said. “And then this year, we’re down by 18, it’s like six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and he’s like, ‘Coach, here we go again,’ with a smirk. And next thing you know, bang. We beat them 58-53.”
It was those situations that earned Howell the respect he’s gotten. It’s also why Longo and Brown both say they have no doubt Howell will be successful in the NFL and can help turn around a franchise.
“Everything you look for in a prospect, he’s got,” Brown said. “He’s smart, he competes, he loves to play, he studies the game. He’s the same guy every week.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
