Please help to compare Sam Howell with '24 QB corp.

[toffee]

Class of 2024 QBs are being promoted as one of the best in recent history. Since some QBs in this class are older than Sam Howell, I think comparing Sam with them is fair. We got Sam for what's equivalent of a 5th round pick, I think it's good value. Can someone with more football knowledge help with some analysis? Thank you.

Here are some candidates of similar height.

	age	height	weight	arm length	hand size	Prospect grade
Sam Howell	23	6'1"	218 lbs	30 3/4"	9 1/8"	6.22 (Will Eventually Be Average Starter)
Caleb Williams	22.3	6'1"	214 lbs	32"	9 3/4"	6.74 (Year 1 Starter)
Bo Nix	24	6'2"	214 lbs	31 7/8"	10 1/8"	6.39 (Will Eventually Be Plus Starter)
Michael Penix		6'2"	216 lbs	33 5/8"	10 1/2"	6.25 (Will Eventually Be Average Starter)
Spencer Rattler	23.9	6'	211 lbs	31"	9 7/8"	5.95 (Average Backup Or Special-Teamer)
Jordan Travis	23.8	6'1"	200 lbs	31 3/8"	9"	5.89 (Average Backup Or Special-Teamer)
Sam Hartman		6'1"	211 lbs	31 3/8"	9 3/4"	5.69 (Candidate For Bottom Of Roster Or Practice Squad)

2025 NFL Combine Player Participants - NFL.com

 

[olyfan63]

Class of 2024 QBs are being promoted as one of the best in recent history. Since some QBs in this class are older than Sam Howell, I think comparing Sam with them is fair. We got Sam for what's equivalent of a 5th round pick, I think it's good value. Can someone with more football knowledge help with some analysis? Thank you.

I don't claim more football knowledge than you, but let's start by making the list of 2024 QBs to comp with. Here's a start:

Caleb Williams
Drake Maye
Jayden Daniels
Michael Penix
JJ McCarthy
Bo Nix
Spencer Rattler
Jordan Travis
Michael Pratt
Joe Milton III

Feel free to add or subtract names to arrive at a final list.

 

[toffee]

I don't claim more football knowledge than you, but let's start by making the list of 2024 QBs to comp with. Here's a start:

Caleb Williams
Drake Maye
Jayden Daniels
Michael Penix
JJ McCarthy
Bo Nix
Spencer Rattler
Jordan Travis
Michael Pratt
Joe Milton III

Feel free to add or subtract names to arrive at a final list.

On the minus side, Sam with short arms and small hands, is not physically gifted.
On the plus side, he is 'battle tested' after a season of starting experience, so we are buying something with a proven NFL record, no guessing game.

 

[SocialParasite]

I'm definitely no analyst, but by the eye test, I would compare Howell to his fellow Sam (Hartman) but I would say Howell is more consistent. Hartman had that one really good season in 2021, and he followed that up with another respectable season in '22, but he dipped this past season, not sure how much of that is due to him playing for a different program.

 

[IndyHawk]

Lot of short QBs on that opening list and not what I want.
To me 6'2" or more is the ideal height as it makes things easier.

 

[Hawkinaz]

IMO the reason for the trade for Howell is he likes him better than the QBs he could have drafted past the 3rd rd

Rattler, Pratt, Travis, Milton, Hartman after them there are a slew of QBs that will be UDFAs

 

[Chawker]

As long as Sam Howell doesn't play like Thiston Howell III, and gets the ball out fast he'll be ok, I'd be more worried about our OL holding up.

 

[toffee]

I just Googled a little bit, measurement-wise, the closest to Howell is Brock Purdy!

age	height	weight	arm length	hand size	Prospect grade
Sam Howell	23	6'1"	218 lbs	30 3/4"	9 1/8"	6.22 (Will Eventually Be Average Starter)
Brock Purdy	24	6 5/8"	212 lbs	29"	9 1/4"

Howell might even enjoy stronger arm strength

 

[toffee]

Check out Sam's ball velocity, up there with Stroud, Mahome etc.,

The strongest arm in the 2023 NFL Draft Quarterback class - Dorian Thompson-Robinson?

At the combine, the forty-yard dash times typically make all the headlines. However, for quarterbacks, there is a lesser-known measurement that often goes…

www.nfldraftbuzz.com

 

[nwHawk]

Sam Howell has a very similar profile to Baker Mayfield. Arms, hands, weight, height, mph on ball, etc.

 

[nwHawk]

I watched PFF’s discussion with Dane Brugler, and they start talking about Washington’s Top Golf mass top-30 event where they brought in all of their top-30 visits with all of the top QBs to see who the real alpha and leaders are in the group.

Then talked about how Commanders had to trade Sam Howell because Sam is a true alpha and players would flock to him over the other QBs available at the #2 pick. Said he overshadow Drake and others.

I like the vibe…

 

[Chukarhawk]

for me he's exactly what you will get with Bo Nix even though on the field he looks like Mayfield in build. He's way more agile than Mayfield.

 

[Double Tribble]

21 int's vs 3 for Nix. I can't overlook that. That's just pitifully bad.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

Quarterbacks — both good and bad — come in all different physical dimensions. If the evaluation were this simple, it would be much easier to predict NFL success/failure. The brain is more important than any of this, and there are so many differences between college and NFL that we don’t really know until the second or third year in NFL.

 

[CanHawksFan]

21 int's vs 3 for Nix. I can't overlook that. That's just pitifully bad.

I'm not sure it really makes sense to try to compare college stats to NFL stats.

Better to consider Howell's final year in college, where he had 9 INTs, but the difference is that he was 2 1/2 years younger than Nix in his final year.

 

[Double Tribble]

I'm not sure it really makes sense to try to compare college stats to NFL stats.

Better to consider Howell's final year in college, where he had 9 INTs, but the difference is that he was 2 1/2 years younger than Nix in his final year.

Bad is bad, nfl or not.

 

[chris98251]

Bad is bad, nfl or not.

So level of difficulty and competition doesn't matter in your opinion?

 

[CallMeADawg]

Bad is bad, nfl or not.

You're just looking at the number without any context at all. That's pathetic.

 

[Hawkinaz]

Bad is bad, nfl or not.

Game film over box scores

 

[Double Tribble]

So level of difficulty and competition doesn't matter in your opinion?

You're just looking at the number without any context at all. That's pathetic.

Lol. How many other nfl qb's threw 21 int' s last year? Context doesn't win games. Good qb play does, and so far, Howell hasn't shown he can be a good qb yet. Pathetic, indeed.