Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Football: Sam Howell tops 2022 NFL mock draft on DraftSite.com

By Carson Brown

ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 27: Quarterback Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels throws a pass in the first half against the Temple Owls in the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 27, 2019 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 27: Quarterback Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels throws a pass in the first half against the Temple Owls in the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 27, 2019 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Sam Howell tops the 2022 NFL mock draft from DraftSite.com. Not only is it a major compliment to Howell, but it expresses the growth of the North Carolina football program.

Sam Howell had an incredible freshman season under center for Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels. He was one of the lesser-known names in college football going into last season but that’s about to change over these next few years. Some have already hopped on the Howell bandwagon, but not enough people have yet to recognize his potential to be great.

One website has given Howell the ultimate compliment. DraftSite.com has a 2022 NFL mock draft completed, and I understand the 2022 draft is two years down the line, but they had Howell as their number one selection to the Atlanta Falcons.

This honor they have given Howell is not only a reflection of the hard work and dedication he has shown towards the game, but it is also a reflection of the direction this UNC program is headed.

Being the number one pick in the draft comes with more than just individual talent. The average collegiate record of the quarterbacks taken with the number one pick in the draft is astonishing, to say the least.

The last five quarterbacks to be drafted with the first overall pick are Jameis Winston in 2015, Jared Goff in 2016, Baker Mayfield in 2018, Kyler Murray in 2019, and soon to be Joe Burrow in 2020. When you accumulate their season records in the year prior to being selected in the NFL draft, it comes out to 60-10. That means an average of 12 wins per season from the number one pick in the draft at the quarterback position.

The Tar Heels have not won 12 games in their history as a football program and they have not won 10 games since 2015. Whoever put together the mock draft on DraftSite.com saw the potential in Howell and how he will improve over the next few years, but they also saw the eruption this Tar Heel team has coming.

If there was a time for a UNC football team to make program history, it would have come in these next two years. The NCAA recently released their preseason Top 25 and they had UNC slotted at 17, ESPN also has them at 17, and 247 has the Tar Heels at 14.

Related Story. UNC Football: Tar Heels add North Alabama to future schedule. light

Things are looking great for UNC and even better for Sam Howell. The best part about all of this as a Tar Heel football fan is the fact that Howell has to remain in baby blue for at least two years, but take none of it for granted as a senior season for Howell is quite unlikely.

Home/UNC Football