The Commanders surprised football fans at the 2022 NFL draft when they selected a quarterback, North Carolina’s Sam Howell, in the fifth round
Washington had already made a blockbuster trade earlier in the offseason when it picked up Carson Wentz from the Colts. He was predicted to be the team’s starting quarterback for the 2022 season ahead of Commanders’ 2021 starter Taylor Heinicke.
Commanders coach Ron Rivera admitted on The Rich Eisen Show this week that picking up a quarterback was not the organization’s original plan, but since Howell was still available at that point, they decided to give him a shot.
“To be up front, yes we were [surprised],” Rivera said. “We actually had a pretty high grade on him. He was one of the quarterbacks that we really liked and I think if we had still been in the quarterback derby, he might’ve been a guy that we targeted. We felt really comfortable about drafting the guy there.”
The team plans to give Howell some time to develop under the two veteran quarterbacks before he gets a starting chance, though.
“We told him, ‘hey look, this is an opportunity to come in, no pressure to play right away so you can develop and grow,’” Rivera said. “And who knows, down the line at some point, you’re going to get that opportunity. But right now, we feel very good with Carson and very good with Taylor as our two quarterbacks.”
Last season with the Colts, Wentz finished with a 62.4% completion percentage, totaling 3,563 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Colts missed the playoffs after losing to the Jaguars in Week 18.
Howell finished with similar stat lines in his junior year at North Carolina, finishing with a 62.5% completion percentage, totaling 3,056 yards and 24 touchdowns.
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