UNC Football: Sam Howell’s early 2022 NFL draft ranking revealed

The 2021 NFL draft is now over a week old as the league welcomed in the newest crop of talent with the offseason going on. Now that the 2021 draft is complete, the focus shifts to the 2022 NFL draft and already mock drafts, big boards and prospect rankings have been released.

After North Carolina saw five players taken during the three-day event, including four players from their offense, next year they very well could have the No. 1 overall selection.  And that player could be quarterback Sam Howell.

The former four-star recruit could be North Carolina’s highest-rated prospect in terms of the NFL draft since quarterback Mitch Trubisky in 2017.

Howell is not only entering this season as a potential Heisman candidate, he’s in the running to be the top quarterback as well as the potential No. 1 prospect. But where does Howell stand among first prospect rankings here in May of 2021?

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay just dropped his first mock draft for 2022 last week and he has Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux going No. 1 overall. After that, McShay predicts that USC’s Kedon Slovis will be the first quarterback off the board at No. 2 overall to Detroit followed by Howell at No. 7 to Carolina. Here is what he says about Howell:

"Howell broke a number of Trevor Lawrence’s true freshman national records in 2019 and only got better in 2020. Shorter than the NFL’s usually desired QBs, Howell makes up for that with a stocky 225-pound frame that’s built to take punishment. He’s drawn comparisons to Baker Mayfield since high school, and that’s easy to understand when you watch his play style: Some occasional brilliance out of structure but he’s best off when on time and working within the system’s confines."

The consensus on Howell appears to be a first-round pick, except a select few on NFL draft Twitter for whatever reason doesn’t think the quarterback should be taken on day one but that’s a different story. It’s even safe to say that many believe he will be a top 5 or top 10 pick come next April as well.

CBS Sports recently gave their predictions for who the No. 1 pick will be and Barrett Sallee predicted it would be Howell.

The quarterback should be in the talks for not only being the top player at his position but a real possibility to go No. 1 depending on the team that owns the pick. With Howell likely entering his final year at UNC, it’s time to enjoy the ride one last time Tar Heels fans.

For more on Howell and the UNC Football program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.