No one expected Sam Howell to be around in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. Certainly not the Washington Commanders, who loved Howell but had already sent multiple draft picks to the Indianapolis Colts for Carson Wentz.
However, Washington pounced with Howell on the board to open the fifth round. The Commanders made it no secret they had Howell rated much higher and planned to sit Howell for his entire rookie season.
Things didn’t turn out as planned for Wentz and the Commanders. He struggled, and Taylor Heinicke returned to the lineup and almost led Washington to the playoffs. The team struggled in December, giving Wentz one more chance to start against Cleveland in an elimination game, and he was terrible.
That ended the Wentz experiment in Washington, opening the door for Howell.
Howell started the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, leading the Commanders to a 26-7 win. We can debate about the importance of the game from a Dallas perspective, but Howell played well. Indeed, the Commanders didn’t ask a lot of Howell, but he played within himself and made plays with his arm and legs, including making one of the more impressive throws of the 2022 NFL season.
It didn’t take long for Washington to let everyone know Howell would have every chance to be the quarterback in 2023 — and beyond. Howell’s growth from last summer until the end of the season impressed coaches. One of the biggest knocks on Howell entering the draft was his footwork. He was asked during OTAs how much emphasis he placed on footwork.
“Yeah, I mean, I feel like I’m a lot better,” Howell said of his footwork. “I try to get better every single year, especially when I have a long break like that and being back with my quarterback coach Anthony Boone back home. He did a really good job.”
John Keim of ESPN recently profiled Howell’s work this offseason and spoke to Boone — a former college quarterback and Howell’s QB coach since high school.
“He’ll make a lot of people happy in that building,” Boone told Keim, referring to the Commanders.
Howell’s footwork was a primary focus for Boone this offseason, but there were other aspects that the pair worked on.
Boone worked with him a lot on other aspects as well: making sure he didn’t drift on his drops; having his eyes in the right place; using a good alignment to make sure he can throw. They worked together three days a week during the offseason, going over a different area each day.
One day it would be the intermediate and quick game; the next play-action throws and bootlegs, with deep throws to build arm strength and then the third day was all about the red zone.
Howell said as soon as he knew the Commanders were hiring Bieniemy, he began watching plenty of Chiefs’ film.
“Once I knew we had EB, I was kind of watching Kansas City film and kind of seeing what they were doing,” Howell said. “I feel like I was able to kind of match my full work up to what they’re doing in Kansas City.”
Howell had a strong offseason, with head coach Ron Rivera noting he had done what was expected of him, and that was enough to enter training camp as “QB1.”
Next, Howell must hold off veteran Jacoby Brissett. Brissett finished the offseason program on a strong note. He’s not going to make it easy on Howell.
Howell did everything right this offseason. He put in the work, often outside of the team facility. He has the trust of his coaches and the respect of his teammates. Now, he must take advantage of his opportunity and not look back.
