The entire offseason plan for the Indianapolis Colts is a bit murky until we know exactly what the quarterback situation looks like moving forward.
The Colts have a soft deadline of trading or releasing quarterback Carson Wentz before March 18. That’s when $27 million of his $28.3 million salary-cap hit becomes guaranteed for the 2022 season.
Despite not knowing how that situation will unfold, the Colts took a quarterback in Dane Brugler’s post-NFL combine mock draft. In this edition, they went with Sam Howell out of North Carolina.
Here is the scouting report on Howell from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:
“Stocky, three-year starter who plays with admirable confidence despite inconsistencies in important areas as a passer. Howell attacks the field working from deep to short when he’s allowed. He’s not a classic full-field reader at this point but has pocket poise and mobility to potentially develop in that area in the future. He muscles throws, hindering his accuracy on drive throws but has adequate arm strength and can expedite off-platform throws. Howell doesn’t throw with nearly enough timing or ball placement, which forces wideouts into the boundaries or to break stride, limiting their YAC potential. He flashed impressive dual-threat talent in 2021, which should work in his favor. The 2021 tape was bumpy but his makeup is really good and improvement is likely with better pieces around him. Howell isn’t wired for or suited to a ball-control passing attack and might need a vertical passing scheme capable of creating explosive plays in order to succeed.”
The Colts are certainly in the market for a quarterback. Whether that means they take one via the draft or free agency remains to be seen. But with the likelihood that Wentz is gone, it’s likely they have to make some sort of replacement.
In this mock draft, three quarterbacks went off the board before the Colts got on the clock. Kenny Pickett went No. 11 to the Washington Commanders, Malik Willis went No. 18 to the New Orleans Saints and Desmond Ridder went No. 32 to the Detroit Lions.
Howell was next to the Colts at No. 47 while Matt Corral went a few picks later to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 52. This means the Colts chose Howell over Carson Strong, who is one of the favorite prospects for Indy in mock drafts.
We won’t truly know how the Colts will go about the draft until the Wentz situation is settled. If he’s back, it’s hard to see the Colts burning a pick on a quarterback for the third year in a row.
If Wentz is gone, however, all options will be on the table.
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