One of everyone’s favorite offseason topics is rankings, especially during the slow months of June and July. Every position is ranked, every position group is ranked and every team is ranked.
As we’ve often said, rankings are always subjective. One of the more consistent rankings we saw this offseason was where everyone ranked Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell.
Multiple sites or analysts ranked Howell as the NFL’s No. 32 quarterback for 2023. Three first-round rookie quarterbacks were all ranked ahead of Howell. Sure, Howell is a bit of a mystery, but in the one start he did have, he played well, displaying the traits of a legitimate NFL starting passer.
Washington began training camp Wednesday, and Howell met with the media afterward. The topic of people on the outside doubting him came up.
“Honestly, not really,” Howell said when asked if he pays attention to people doubting him. “Only thing really is a lot of my friends kind of send me like the Madden ratings and stuff like that.”
Howell sort of understands it comes with the territory, and it does not bother him.
“I know that some people might think it’s crazy just because of how the draft went, and I hardly played at all last year,” he said. “But for me, it doesn’t really change anything for me. I know the type of player that I can be in this league. I feel like I’ve worked very hard and put myself in a position to go out there and succeed, so I really could care less what other people say. It’s really about what I hear in this building and what I hear internally.”
What a perfect answer. He shouldn’t care about what ANYONE on the outside thinks. These aren’t words from Howell; he appears unflappable. Howell is only focused on improving on the field and making those in the burgundy and gold happy.
No one is wrong to doubt Howell. However, much of that doubt exists because Howell was a fifth-round pick last year. That’s silly. Once you are in the NFL, no one cares where you were drafted, especially your teammates.
Washington believes in Howell. And that’s all that matters.
LIVE: QB Sam Howell speaks to the media after Day 1 of training camp https://t.co/GjgO5R7jhB
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 26, 2023