Mel Kiper Jr. gives interesting NFL comparison to Sam Howell

Sam Howell put together a successful career as North Carolina’s quarterback, and now he’s preparing for an NFL career. With his final season of college football in the books, Howell is now getting set to showcase his skills on Saturday in the Reese’s Senior Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

Howell, who threw for 10,283 yards and 92 touchdowns while rushing for 1,009 yards and 17 more scores over his three years with the Tar Heels, is coming off a solid season in 2021 – as he put up 3,056 passing yards and 24 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions, and 828 rushing yards with 11 more touchdowns.

Although his numbers last season weren’t bad at all, Howell’s stats did take a little bit of a hit, but that’s mainly due to the fact that he no longer had a handful of star North Carolina offensive weapons around him – meaning he had to do more on his own while quarterbacking the Tar Heels.

Heading into Saturday’s Senior Bowl, ESPN NFL Draft insider Mel Kiper Jr. broke down Howell’s game and compared him to Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“Yeah, he wasn’t the second quarterback in my mock draft,” Kiper said. “He was the quarterback at the end of the first round. For Sam Howell, he was a guy early on in the evaluation process back in August that probably would’ve had a first-round grade – maybe even a high first-round grade – based on what he did in 2020 when he had Dazz Newsome and he had a guy like Dyami Brown and had two backs like Michael Carter and Javonte Williams. This year, you take the four skill position players away from him – sure his numbers did come down. His completion percentage came down, his touchdowns – all that.

“But Sam Howell’s a battler. He’s been in that offense for a while, he’s got a ton of experience from Mack Brown. Here’s a kid that I think drew comparisons to Baker Mayfield. Now, this year obviously that changed a little bit.”

Senior Bowl executive director: Sam Howell can put his talent on display

Heading into Saturday’s game, Jim Nagy – the executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl – joined the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast and went in-depth on Sam Howell.

“In Sam’s case, I think everyone had Sam as a top-half of the first round quarterback going into the year and then you lose Javonte Williams, you lose Michael Carter, you lose Dazz Newsome, you lose Dyami Brown – those are four guys that are having an impact in the NFL right now, especially the two running backs,” Nagy said. “So, to not be able to turn around and hand the ball to those two guys, if affected him. I think it was a supporting cast thing. I think [Liberty quarterback] Malik Willis is kind of in that same boat this year.

“Sam had to do a lot on his own. I think we all know he’s a twitchy passer, he’s got a good arm and is a good downfield thrower. I think it’s a good thing this year that he got to show his athleticism. He took off a lot. He showed his legs, he showed his toughness when he took off. He took a lot of shots, but he proved his toughness, he proved his athleticism. Now, just coming down here with a bunch of NFL guys around him during the week, being protected – I think it’s a big week for Sam to show what it’s going to look like when he’s got a bunch of dudes around him.”