Sam Howell

[t96]

Hard pass at 6, I'd be happy with him after like 20-25 though. Whether that's trade down or even trading futures/players for a pick, either way. I prefer Pickett although ideally I'd want to get him between 10-20 not at 6 as well. Not a great draft to have a need for QB and a top 6 pick. Thinking we go OL if we don't trade down. I don't think we need to reach for a QB in this class. I badly want something to be excited about this year and a QB pick would definitely give me that but odds are with this class we wind up with an absolute scrub that we waste a high draft pick on, I'd like to avoid that.

[Eazy-E]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Glasses are off. Wilson is a big reason why there's less height stigma around QBs in today's NFL. I don't know that guys like Mayfield and Murray go #1 overall pre-Wilson.

You kinda betrayed your motivations a bit with that particular name drop.

 

 

You named two Heisman winning QBs who were both statistically the best QBs in football the years they came out. Howell is no where close to those two. If Wilson threw for 1000+ more yards and 10+ more TDs like Murray and Mayfield he doesn’t drop to the 3rd round.

[LinvilleGorge]

3 minutes ago, Eazy-E said:

You named two Heisman winning QBs who were both statistically the best QBs in football the years they came out. Howell is no where close to those two. If Wilson threw for 1000+ more yards and 10+ more TDs like Murray and Mayfield he doesn’t drop to the 3rd round.

If Howell played at OU he would've probably had a Heisman worthy season while UNC would be coming off a 2-3 win season and people would be screaming for Mack's head. Jalen Hurts had a Heisman caliber season at OU when he looked like a guy who should switch to RB at Bama. Just the truth.

[Eazy-E]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

If Howell played at OU he would've probably had a Heisman worthy season while UNC would be coming off a 2-3 win season and people would be screaming for Mack's head. Just the truth.

Same can be said about a lot of QBs. Unfortunately, hypotheticals don’t help draft stocks.

[4Corners]

3 minutes ago, Eazy-E said:

You named two Heisman winning QBs who were both statistically the best QBs in football the years they came out. Howell is no where close to those two. If Wilson threw for 1000+ more yards and 10+ more TDs like Murray and Mayfield he doesn’t drop to the 3rd round.

I can promise you if Sam walked into a room with Mayfeld and Kyle Murray you would fall in love with Sam and think he was the actual NFL QB out of the three 

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, Eazy-E said:

Same can be said about a lot of QBs. Unfortunately, hypotheticals don’t help draft stocks.

NFL teams don't really care about Heismans. Hell, they really don't care about what you did at the college level at all. They care about how you project to the NFL level and they still get a lot wrong every year. Just the way it goes.

[CPcavedweller]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Everyone here should know by now that I'm a big Heels and Howell fan. I was planning to do a breakdown of him as an NFL prospect, but this guy basically did it for me.

I can't find a whole lot to disagree with here so I'll just link this:

https://steelersdepot.com/2022/01/2022-nfl-draft-player-profiles-north-carolina-qb-sam-howell/

I'll add...

Biggest strength:

- Physically, it's throwing the deep ball. He throws an accurate very catchable deep ball. Don't get triggered by these names, but in terms of the style of deep ball he throws think Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers. He has an ability to throw a ball that somehow both has a lot of air under it yet doesn't get "floaty" giving safeties a chance to make a great break on it.

- Mentally, it's his competitive fire and ability to stay even keel. The guy is willing to do whatever it takes to give his team a chance and he doesn't get rattled or frustrated when the game isn't going well or the OL is getting blown up or receivers are dropping balls.

Biggest weakness:

- Physically, it's his height. He's probably six feet even on a good day. The pounding he took this season has to give you a little pause too. He took a prime Cam Newton type of pounding this year playing behind a porous OL while oftentimes being relied upon as the primary ball carrier on the ground.

- Mentally, it's his risk/reward analysis. It has to evolve at the NFL level. As a pure passer, I actually think he's there. He usually does a great job of managing risk while still taking manageable chances. It has more to do with him as a runner and a scrambler. He's built like Stephen Davis and runs like him too. You don't want your QB taking that type of pounding. 3rd down in the second half of a tight game? Do your thing young man. 1st quarter? Get down and protect yourself. Similar story as a scrambler. He has the mentality that no play is ever dead and he always has a chance to make a play. That leads to some highlight reels but it also leads to some bad sacks. He has to develop a better feel for when to push the envelope and when to toss it into the stands.

NFL comparison:

Everyone wants to say Baker Mayfield and I get it. Physically they're very similar. I think Howell is a bit better of an athlete and I think Mayfield has a bit better natural arm talent (keep in mind, Mayfield has the longest pass thrown in terms of yards in air in NFL history to his credit). The breakdown I linked mentioned Wilson as a comp and I can get that too. Mentally, I think he's a much better comp vs. Mayfield. So if you let me combine them, I say Mayfield physically and Wilson mentally. I have another name in mind specifically, but I don't want this thread to go off the rails from the get go. There's gonna have to be a trigger warning involved.

He's willing to do what it takes but not able.

[ForJimmy]

Howell was talked about being the top pick before the season started. He must have checked a lot of boxes at the time. He dropped in ranking because he “regressed” from his crazy numbers his previous year. Even during a “regressed” year he put up solid numbers. I’ve watched some of his games and their offense was basically a one man show with no OL. Now, since his stats dropped scouts are concerned about his height? Bryce Young (the top pick next year) is the same height on a smaller frame. So these people who are concerned about his height, but want Young next year are making no sense. 

[Tbe]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see us trade down. Not having 2nd and 3rd round picks hurts and I don't think we'll hesitate to trade down if the right opportunity presents itself.

I don’t know if we can trade back. Not a super strong position to be in this year.

I think we’ll play the QB or OL thing hard in hopes someone offers us the moon to not go QB.

[The Huddler]

17 minutes ago, Ocpanthertew714 said:

Baker Mayfield lite

exactly

 

just pastier with more arm hair

[LinvilleGorge]

3 minutes ago, Tbe said:

I don’t know if we can trade back. Not a super strong position to be in this year.

I think we’ll play the QB or OL thing hard in hopes someone offers us the moon to not go QB.

Edge rushers and OTs are premium positions and this draft has some nice ones at the top. I could see a team willing to make a move for one of them.

[CPantherKing]

Howell is not like a Russel Wilson, Kyler Murray, or Patrick Mahomes. Those are QBs who rely on their short stop athleticism to maneuver defenders and get receivers open.

Howell is a Colt McCoy, Taysom Hill, The Golden Calf of Bristol, Michael Bishop type.

[Catsfan69]

Howell I'd just another Baker Mayfield. 

 

No thanks Jeff.

[LinvilleGorge]

Now we're getting to the types of hot takes I fully expected.