North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell throws a pass as Pittsburgh linebacker Phil Campbell III rushes in November. (Keith Srakocic / Associated Press)
He isn’t a coach or a team scout, but Greg Cosell commands a lot of respect in NFL circles, particularly with his quarterback evaluations. Here, the senior producer for NFL Films shares a sampling of his observations on his top six quarterback prospects heading into the draft:
SAM HOWELL, North Carolina
North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell passes against Boston College. (Associated Press)
Strengths
Threw an excellent deep ball with both proper trajectory, touch and consistently precise ball placement.
Gives an offense the designed QB run game and zone read game. Strong competitive runner with RB traits.
Designed runs and second-reaction runs stood out most on tape. That was the strength of his game in 2021.
Weaknesses
Will need to learn the NFL play-action pass game from under center. Did not throw a pass under center in 2021.
Too often…