I think the mid teens-20s is where the QBs “should” start coming off the board. Im pretty sure im in the minority, but i 100% agree w/where they have Willis. Coming into this year, i did like the potential & was hyped to see him ball. Fast forward to now…that dude has suspect IQ, makes poor decisions & leans way too much on his legs for my liking. You can kind of knock his lack of skill players, but a lot of that is on Willis for not seeing/utilizing the entire field. The freak show athleticism is undeniable, it’s the QB part that totally turns me off. I mean, we already have Willis on our team any ways,we just call him Taysom.
We need a QB who protects the ball, makes quick decisive decisions, & has a hair trigger release. Fortunately, this draft has a few of those guys. Howell, Pickett, Strong, Zappe even Corral totally fit that bill. These dudes arent gonna fit every team, but they happen to fit our team to the letter. That’s why i think drafting a QB This year totally works.
On that note, Sam Howell would be a perfect type of prospect to develop into our future franchise QB. He lost all his offensive weapons & played this season behind a suspect OL. He may not have balled out, so to speack, but he def showed his grit & solidified his ability as a QB. While perpetually running for his life, also showcased his ability to keep plays alive w/his legs & unlocked his ability as a straight up runner.
Howell had over 800 yards & scored 11 TDs this year. Im sorry, but that’s not easy to do & pretty impressive in my opinion given that that’s not exactly he does best. The mobility, accuracy, release & decisive decision making skills are pretty much what Payton seems to covet in a QB. By the way, he protects the football, which is what none our current QBs are really known for, or have consistently displayed over their careers.
We saw what Howell could do with WRs & RBs, which was win by lighting up scoreboards & surgically butchering defenses w/his arm. Then we saw him without weapons & an OL, where he lost a lot of close games, but totally showed his true grit as a competitor & leader. I mean, the losses made me like Howell even more, if that makes sense.
He put his team on his shoulders this year & though the results ended in a 6-6 season, outside of the GT game, NC was in all those games till the end. Day 1, 2, where ever…if we draft Howell i’d be all good w/that pick. Imagining Howell paired w/Payton is pretty freaking exciting to me.