Tag: Sam Howell 5th Round 2022

Analyst talks Commanders, quarterbacks and the draft

One draft analyst has high praise for Sam Howell and discusses which rookie passer he likes the best.

NFL draft and college football analyst Thor Nystrom of Fantasy Pros and Betting Pros didn’t hold back in his analysis of the Commanders’ quarterback situation.

Nystrom, a guest of the Al Galdi Podcast Monday evaluated the upcoming NFL draft and the Commanders drafting a quarterback in particular.

“If you are going to shoot the moon on potential, shoot the highest, and Anthony Richardson certainly has the highest ceiling as far as the physical tools.”

“The NFL is weighing in more of that risk threshold, and I think there is a better shot that he (Richardson) would get down to Washington’s pick (16).”

“It’s all about your risk threshold. You see them (coaches) constantly skirting away from those guys who cannot contribute in year one, because their jobs are on the line.”

“Those coaches need to get some immediate feedback from the investments they have made. As we get closer to draft day, the fervor for Richardson might get higher as well.”

“Washington is in a decent situation. They liked what they saw from Sam Howell at the end of the season. They could shoot the moon on Richardson’s upside, go into next year, and know that Richardson is not going to be starting. If one or both is a bonanza, then great! If one didn’t work out, hopefully, the other one did.”

In regards to Howell’s ranking as one of the top quarterbacks after the 2021 college season:

“The stuff regarding last year’s quarterbacks. I would love to see an investigative report on it someday. For the whole story to come out. Not only was it a shock to the media, but it was also a shock the NFL.

“Malik Willis and Matt Corral were two of the quarterbacks in the green room at the draft last year. The NFL did not believe that day that either QB would fall to rounds three and four or that Sam Howell would drop to round 5!”

Nystrom believes Washington really obtained great value in getting Howell as late as they did… in the fifth round. He also believes Richardson, if he falls to the third, would be of great value.

Notice how earlier Nystrom said coaches who have to win that year can’t be taking guys who may not contribute the very next season. Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew must win in 2023 to ensure they are still here in 2024.

Consequently, I’d look for those two men to be looking for whom they feel can help the Commanders right away with their first and second-round picks.

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Former NFL executive comments on Commanders’ QB room

A former NFL team president talks Washington’s QB room.

How would a former NFL personnel executive move the Commanders forward at quarterback? In addition, what does it mean for Sam Howell in particular?

Al Galdi, on his podcast Wednesday, discussed this and more with Joe Banner, former Eagles team president (1995-2012) and Browns Chief Executive Officer (2012-13). Here are a few excerpts from Banner.

The Commanders are making it known they are positioning Sam Howell for their QB1 in the 2023 season. Should they draft a quarterback? Should they sign a free-agent quarterback?

“I think the Commanders are a quarterback away from being a good team. I don’t know that they are a quarterback away from being a great team. There’s more that needs to be done. Some of it may be done by replacing the offensive coordinator. Hopefully, they will use opportunities in the offseason to upgrade some of the talent.”

“You have to draft well, and they have to keep those players. There is more opportunity than there has even been to build a team more through free agency. For years you could not win a championship doing that.”

“I always preferred to draft and develop my own players at the most important positions. But you have to be very careful not to be fooling yourself if you think you have solutions, but you don’t.”

Banner says he watched only a bit of Howell prior to the draft and therefore does not have a solid opinion regarding Howell. He added that other people have studied more and have stronger convictions. But, of course, that alone does not indicate whether they are accurate or not.

“It would worry me to think we were going to put most of our eggs in the basket of a fifth-round draft choice. It presumes the rest of the league missed, which we know does occasionally happen, but not that often. I like to bet on the odds; I don’t like to swim upstream.”

“The odds are the fifth-round draft choice that everyone else passed on is not suddenly the answer after 20 years of searching for a quarterback. So, I would be concerned if that was the only thing we were going to do.”

“Whatever way, they should not prejudge this and be afraid of past mistakes or successes they have had. They should just be evaluating every quarterback that could possibly be a member of this team…. It’s not because one is a veteran and one is a young guy. Not because one guy has a skill, another guy does not.”

“You want a clean slate, no bias brought to the table, finding out who can take this team to a level we haven’t seen in a long time. Anything else runs the risk of creating bias, which increases the odds of making a mistake.”

Howell only took snaps in one game this season. Here is a video claiming to contain each run and pass by Howell in the Commanders’ 26-6 win over the Cowboys.

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