8 potential starters at QB for Broncos after the Senior Bowl

Denver Broncos QB option No. 5: Sam Howell, rookie, North Carolina

For what it’s worth, I think Sam Howell is the most underrated QB in this particular NFL Draft class.

Would it be surprising to anyone if Howell wound up circling back around to being the QB1 out of this group?

It shouldn’t be.

It’s easy to forget the way Howell played in his first two seasons at North Carolina because recency bias is real, and nobody cares to consider that Howell was playing this past season without all of the outstanding NFL-level talent that left in the 2021 offseason.

Let’s not forget that Howell has proven to be one of the most consistent passers in college football under pressure:

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1491456866391511040

Not to mention, Howell was always clutch for the Tar Heels in big moments…

I am not going to sit here and say Howell is without flaw, but he’s undoubtedly worth a shot if you’re going the NFL Draft route this year.

Another aspect of Howell’s game that was unlocked and unleashed in 2021 was his ability as a runner. He ran for over 800 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season and proved to be a legit dual-threat at the position.

Again, Howell is not without flaw, but he’s an intriguing candidate and I don’t think his NFL starter qualities disappeared in the 2021 NFL season. This past year without guys like Javonte Williams, Dyami Brown, Michael Carter, and Dazz Newsome really helped Howell progress through some issues he may not have been blind to before.