We’ve seen various outlets rank quarterbacks or quarterback rooms, and Sam Howell and his crew are at or near the bottom in most of them.
But for one analyst, PFF’s Ben Brown, Howell is a better choice than at least one of the vaunted QB Class of 2023 – the one that many, perhaps, were wondering might be a fit for the Commanders if he slipped to 16, which he did and then some.
“I really did like Howell at North Carolina, and if you grade where he is in relation to some of the guys who came out this year…if I was evaluating him based on this year’s class, I could have easily had him ahead of a guy like Will Levis,” Brown told The Junks on Thursday. “In a lot of ways, what he produced in 2021 after losing so many guys speaks to an ability to maybe manufacture and generate big plays. I think he’s a better prospect than Levis.”
Brown also said that Bryce Young “had a similar PFF grade to what Howell did in his last two seasons,” as did CJ Stroud – but while those guys went 1 and 2 overall and Levis at the top of the second, Howell was a fifth-rounder in a draft class where seven of the nine QBs selected started at least one game (and one who didn’t was hurt), and the most successful was arguably the last one in Brock Purdy.
“I know a lot of people might not agree, but from PFF’s grading perspective, we have Howell ahead of Levis based on what he did in college,” Brown said. “Some of the things PFF takes into account, Sam Howell was really good at, like clean pocket grade performance – that was much better than where Will Levis was at. So much of my evaluation is what he did in college, and yes, he did slip to the fifth round, but I was high on him coming out of UNC, so I was surprised he slipped, and I’m excited to see what he can do with the Commanders with some of the skill players he has around him.”
That said, even with Howell better than Levis, Brown has the Commanders in the “pretenders” tier of PFF’s Power Rankings – but that may not last long.
“This is based on the betting spreads and totals we have in 2023, so not my own personal movement of these teams,” Brown said. “I basically take them where the betting markets take them and power rank based off the numbers – and a lot of that for the Commanders is the uncertainty they’ll get from Sam Howell. But, I think a lot of the roster is set up for success this season and in the long-term, so if they find out what they have in Sam Howell, that’s the best scenario – if he’s good, they have heir QB of the future, and if they’re bad, they can draft their next QB of the future. They’re labeled as pretenders, but have the talent elsewhere to be successful for years to come.”
Listen to Brown’s entire conversation with the Junkies below for more Commanders goodness!
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