A quarterback being compared to Baker Mayfield and Johnny Manziel is certainly not flattering.
That is what new Washington quarterback Sam Howell encountered on Monday’s edition of Pro Football Talk hosted by Mike Florio and Chris Simms.
Florio opened pointing out that prior to the 2021 season beginning, Howell was being touted as the first quarterback to be drafted in 2022, but Howell was the sixth taken and not until the 5th round. Yet he understood Howell could possibly be developed as a possible successor to Carson Wentz.
Simms declared Howell was smart, having the highest Wonderlic test score amongst quarterbacks at this year’s NFL combine. He also praised Howell as not being raw like Malik Willis but clearly going through his reading progressions in the pocket during passing plays.
“But the throwing has issues,” expressed Simms. “Listen, I will go to the NFL combine. He threw two out routes and bounced them there. I’ve never really seen a really good quarterback bounce out routes when there was nobody playing defense. There is some issue there with his mechanics.”
“He is Baker Mayfield-like. He scrambles, he is tough, he has some moxie and all that. But I don’t know if his game translates to the NFL. He has some refining to do. But, I think it is a good pick in the fifth round by Washington. He is one of those guys who does have some potential and maybe they do have something to work with here.”
“He has a thick build to him, a thick lower half that allows him to break tackles. But at the same time, he scrambles and takes too many sacks, and I don’t know if that scrambling he got away with in college like Johnny Manziel, it’s not going to translate into the NFL. And that is why he was probably still on the board at the 5th round.”
Well, Sam Howell, will have plenty of time to prove he is not the immature, overrated players Manziel and thus far Mayfield have been.