Sam Howell selected by Washington Commanders with pick 144 in 5th round of NFL Draft
North Carolina’s Sam Howell’s wait to hear his name called in the NFL draft was longer than expected, but it’s finally over. The Tar Heels’ all-time leader in passing yards dropped to the fifth round where the Washington Commanders selected him with the first pick of the round on Saturday.
In Washington, Howell will reunite with one of his former favorite targets. Howell and receiver Dyami Brown connected for a combined 2,000-plus yards and 20 touchdowns in the 2019 and 2020 seasons for UNC. The Commanders chose Brown in the third round of the 2021 draft. Brown had 12 catches for 165 yards last season as a rookie.
Howell is the first-ever quarterback selected during UNC coach Mack Brown’s two stints in Chapel Hill. Only Mitch Trubisky, who went second overall in 2017 to the Chicago Bears, was taken higher than Howell among the seven previous Tar Heel quarterbacks drafted.
Howell was the second UNC player selected after offensive lineman Josh Ezeudu, who was taken on Friday. The New York Giants selected the 6-foot-4, 308-pound lineman with the third pick of the third round.
It has not been a banner year for the quarterback position overall in the draft. Pitt’s Kenny Pickett became the first one taken at 20th overall, which was the longest wait for the first quarterback drafted since Virginia Tech’s Jim Druckenmiller was taken 26th overall in the 1997 draft.
Howell, 6-foot, 220 pounds, was a three-year starter for the Heels and leaves Chapel Hill having claimed every major career passing record — including for touchdowns and total yards — in program history, despite leaving a year of eligibility on the table.
UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo likened Howell’s skill set to that of Drew Brees. Longo said he met Brees, a likely Hall of Famer who won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, when the Heels played Notre Dame and the Brees agreed with the comparison.
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Longo said for three seasons whenever he told Howell something once, he was able to internalize it and execute it without needing a lot of reps in practice.
“He’ll be successful at the next level because of preparation, because of elite arm talent,” Longo said. “I mean, he’s incredibly accurate. He can get the ball out quick, which I think is a huge asset at that level.”
That Howell fell to the 144th overall pick was a bit surprising considering the amount of adulation he received through his first two seasons.
Howell’s career started with a pair of fourth-quarter rallies for victories against South Carolina and Miami in 2019. He nearly out-dueled quarterback Trevor Lawrence and No. 1 Clemson that season too, but UNC failed a 2-point conversion and lost 21-20. He helped the Tar Heels improve off a 2-9 record in Larry Fedora’s last season to 7-6.
As a sophomore, Howell led Carolina to its first-ever Orange Bowl appearance. That’s partly why he entered last season as a Heisman Trophy contender. But losing four skill players to the 2021 NFL Draft proved too much for the Heels offense to easily replace.
Howell had career lows for passing yards (3,056), touchdowns (24) and average yards per game (254.6) as a result. He shouldered more of a load in the ground game where he finished ninth in the ACC with 828 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns this season.
He’s not going to be running like that in the NFL, though. When Howell talked about making the transition to the league on Carolina’s pro day, he mentioned learning how to slide as one of his priorities. He also said he spent a lot of time focusing on perfecting footwork. NFL quarterbacks operate under center more, which means Howell has to adapt from playing primarily in a shotgun formation.
“We didn’t do a lot of that stuff they do in the NFL in college, the footwork is a little different,” Howell said. “So I spent a lot of time doing that and wanted to show I was capable of doing that.”
NFL teams were enamored with Howell’s arm strength, specifically his accuracy on throws downfield. Last season, he completed 31 passes for 25 yards or more.
“There were rave reviews about Sam throwing the ball (at the NFL combine) and some of the receivers talking about it was not just a great ball, but it was easy to catch,” UNC coach Mack Brown said.
At UNC, Howell will be inextricably linked to Brown’s second tenure. Howell originally committed to Florida State, but when Brown was named head coach, he was able to flip him to Carolina. He became the biggest name to commit to the Tar Heels and Brown credited Howell’s signing for making it okay for other top players to follow.
Josh Downs, whose father played at N.C. State and he was leaning into going there, said that Howell’s commitment is what convinced him to choose Carolina. Downs was a favorite target of Howell last season, setting a UNC record for catches and receiving yards.
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 2:07 PM.