It’s no surprise the Pittsburgh Steelers are talking with the the top quarterbacks of the draft. But in the interest of being thorough, we’ll note it all the same. Speaking with reporters, including our own Jonathan Heitritter Wednesday, Howell says he had a formal meeting with the team.
“Yeah I did meet with them,” Howell said. “I think the world of the organization. A great run organization. Lot of respect for Coach Tomlin and how he carries his life and goes about things. I like those guys a lot. Definitely Ben, Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever do it. So great organization.”
Howell is generally considered in the Tier 2 of quarterbacks in this relatively weaker class. He has a chance to go in the first round but is generally thought of to be an early Day 2 selection. Howell is coming off a worse 2021 than 2020 season, in part due to the loss of several of his top weapons. He came back to North Carolina this past year missing WRs Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome and RBs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, all names who moved onto the NFL.
Over his college career, Howell completed nearly 64% of his passes for over 10,000 yards with 92 touchdowns to 23 interceptions. A mobile quarterback, he ran for another 1,000 career yards and 17 rushing scores, including 11 this past year.
Here’s how we summed Howell up in our draft profile.
“He still has some key areas of development that need to occur, but the arm talent, mobility to create as both a passer and a runner, and instances of improvement provide a case he is up for the challenge.”
You can check out the full report below.
