Sam Howell Taken by Commanders to Open Fifth Round of NFL Draft

The former Tar Heel’s slide finally stopped when Washington was on the clock in the fifth round.

Former North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell finally got to hear his named called at the 2022 NFL draft at the beginning of the fifth round on Saturday.

The Commanders selected the 21-year-old Howell with the No. 144 pick, the first of the fifth round. The former Tar Heel signal caller will now make way for Washington, where he’ll join an overhauled quarterback room.

Howell became the latest quarterback to plummet down draft boards this weekend, as teams passed over many of the top passers in this year’s class. A three-year starter at UNC, Howell possessed many NFL-ready traits, leading some around the league to project him as a Day 1 or 2 pick.

“I love him,” a quarterback coach told SI’s Albert Breer. “He’s probably my favorite in the class, if you’re talking about taking him in the second round. … Traits-wise, he’s not a first-round pick. But he has the best vision of all of them, and he’s a natural thrower, he gets a lot of RPMs on the ball. The team around him this year wasn’t good, and they won seven games, and I doubt if you switch any of the other guys here in for him, they do any better.”

Howell made two All-ACC teams during his time in Chapel Hill, earning third-team honors in 2019 and a second-team nod in 2020. He threw for 7,227 yards, 68 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during his first two seasons with the Tar Heels and led UNC to consecutive winning records. 

During his junior campaign in 2021, Howell took a slight step back. He ended the year with career-lows in passing yards (3,056) and touchdowns (24), while throwing nine interceptions in 12 games. UNC finished the year 6–7 after entering the season as the No. 10 team in the AP Poll. 

In the nation’s capital, Howell will slot in behind 2016 No. 2 pick Carson Wentz, who was acquired by the Commanders in a trade with the Colts earlier this offseason. The 29-year-old quarterback showed flashes of his natural talent last year in Indianapolis, throwing for 3,563 yards and 27 touchdowns, but made numerous mistakes during critical moments of the Colts’ season. He ended the campaign with seven interceptions and eight fumbles.

Howell will likely spend most of next year as Wentz’s backup, but could see the field if Washington coach Ron Rivera doesn’t like what he sees from his recently acquired starter.

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