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UNC Football: Where Sam Howell’s draft stock stands

By Zack Pearson

Jan 2, 2021; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell (7) warms up prior facing the Texas A&M Aggies at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2021; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell (7) warms up prior facing the Texas A&M Aggies at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports /
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A new era at quarterback for the UNC football program will be ushered in here in 2022 after junior Sam Howell made it official and declared for the 2022 NFL draft on Saturday. Howell leaves as the most accomplished quarterback in program history setting a few different records over his three years.

The former Florida State commit flipped to North Carolina on National Signing Day in 2018, becoming the first real big recruit Mack Brown landed in his second stint as head coach. But now Howell is heading to the draft where he begins the next stage of his professional career.

With the NFL season winding down, the focus will shift to the offseason for a lot of teams and that focus is mainly on the draft. Players will have post-season bowls, pro workouts, meetings and the NFL scouting combine among other things to impress NFL teams and raise their stock.

For Howell, this will be a big opportunity to up his stock which has taken a bit of a hit this season despite a strong year.

Going into this year, Howell was in the talk to be the top overall pick in the 2022 draft but as it stands right now his stock is hovering around late first-round which is a big drop. Per NFL Mock Draft Database, Howell’s average spot in mock drafts is No. 30 but he’s ranked as the No. 29 overall prospect.

Here’s a look at the latest updated mock drafts and Howell’s stock:

As you see above, the most common landing spot for Howell is to fall to the backend of the first round to the Detroit Lions. That’s a team that is in a rebuild and while Jared Goff might be back for another year, Howell could play early on in his rookie year.

On Monday, the most recent update from Pro Football Focus has him at No. 9 to Washington which is the highest I’ve seen Howell mocked for most of the year.

This will change over time for good or for worse but at least Howell does have the chance to impress NFL teams here in the next few months.

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