Sam Howell had NFL draft experts drooling when he was a junior at Chapel Hill. They were thought to be the future of the class. They both fell out of favor. Rattler moved to South Carolina to get his career back on track. The sixth quarterback to come off the board was the Commanders' fifth-round pick, and he was the starter at North Carolina for the past two years.
The quarterback situation is not good. How can a team believe in a player? There isn't long-term potential. The team is set up for failure with a thin-ice quarterback, even though he is an upgrade from Ryan Fitzpatrick. He has an injury prone past and inconsistent play when he is healthy. The cynicism surrounding Wentz as Washington's starter began before he'd even played a game for a franchise looking for its first long-term starter in over two decades. The streak isn't broken by Wentz.
After the Commanders whiffed on bringing Russell Wilson from Seattle, the team under center was brought to the nation's capital. The experiment failed. There is a quarterback on Washington's roster with potential.
The sample size is the most important factor. He has played in less games than the Eagles' quarterback. He has appeared for the Eagles and Colts 85 times. It is common for the hype for a new quarterback to start someplace.
The great led the Tar Heels for three seasons. He set the school's all-time single-season record for touchdown passes in his first season as a starter. His completion percentage went up to 68.1 percent during his sophomore season, up from 61.4 percent. He didn't fall off with 35 combined passing and rushing touchdown, but it was a down year for him.
It is hard to understand why his projection fell so steeply. Kenny Pickett isn't even starting in Week 1 for Pittsburgh because of a groupthink mentality. Mitch Trubisky was a former UNC quarterback. No rookies will start the first week of the season for the first time since 2007. All-timers like E.J. and DeShone Kizer started there.
If projections that started the 2021 college football season are correct, and someone from this draft class will become an elite quarterback, Howell has as much reason to be that guy. Is Bailey Zappe really going to recreate that magic in New England? What about Matt Corral, who was supposed to be a starter in the Ole Miss bowl game before he got hurt?
The commanders have an improved offense. There is only one way to get back to where they were in the year before. A decent offensive line with lots of young, promising weapons on the outside and backfield would be at Howell's disposal. The Ohio State graduate will be thrown to by a more experienced Wentz. He is expected to blow it. He does it all the time. Ron Rivera wouldn't be smart to give chance. I lost count to him. The time will be Howell time. The soon-to-be-22-year-old has a chance to beat the Commanders' trend of turning 30 next season.
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