The UKHTTC Roster Lowdown Part 3: Quarterbacks

The UKHTTC Roster Lowdown Part 3: the QBs

Over the coming weeks, UKHTTC founder, Christian Burt, will take a positional group each blog and give a broad overview and grade of their NFL win-level readiness and what could go right or wrong.

Welcome to blog three of The Roster Lowdown as we focus on the Most Important Position in Sports™: the Quarterbacks in Washington.

Quarterbacks

The burgundy & gold will enter the 2023 season with a significant question mark at the QB position. And, without a functioning guy under centre, any hopes of a post-season in D.C would remain a pipe dream.

Head Coaches either elevate or deflate based on the ability of a QB to get the job done, and for Ron Rivera success is vital as he enters year four of the five-year deal.

Rivera has made, and continues to make, positive changes in Washington, including a noticeable culture shift and roster depth. However, he has yet to solve the QB conundrum for the Commanders and he certainly has not benefited from any Cam Newton-style QB heroics that propelled his Carolina Panthers team to the Superbowl.

Does that mean that all is doom & gloom in an NFC East division of Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones, and Jalen Hurts who provide definitive NFL-level QB play for the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles respectively?

Not necessarily.

In Sam Howell, Washington made an intriguing pick in the 2022 draft. If taken in 2021, it is fair to say that Howell would’ve been taken no lower than the second round.

So, why did so many teams pass over Sam in 2022 (he fell to the Commanders in the fifth round)?

One regularly commented take is that Howell lost a host of receiving weapons in his last of College and was forced out of the pocket and his comfort zone (and then didn’t show up as overly athletic or accurate). He isn’t the biggest QB around, although he does have a stockiness that reminds a little of Russell Wilson.

There is still a lot of upside to Sam. He has a genuine deep ball threat and that was on display in his one NFL start to date: a Week 17-win vs the Dallas Cowboys.

Howell is both coachable and likeable, and in that final year at North Carolina displayed a team-first mentality that will translate well in an NFL locker room.

There is no obvious ego other than an internal belief in his own ability to be an NFL starting calibre QB. Who wouldn’t like a rookie contract QB aligned to a talented roster? If Sam does turn out to be The Man, that really might open up some serious contention possibilities for 2024 and onwards.

The Commanders also have a strong insurance policy in veteran Jacoby Brissett, who arrived in free agency after a productive stint in Cleveland.

Jacoby is of high-character and, whilst not flashy (he is rather risk-averse) Brissett is a clever QB in the NFL.

My prediction is that by the end of training camp, Brissett will have pushed hard for the job in D.C and that the week one starting position at QB will go down to the wire. Let us not forget that this team have invested heavily on the defensive side of the ball. The DL are all first-rounders. The first two picks of the 2023 were backfield guys.

Might Rivera get tempted to align this DEF strength with the steady QB play Brissett and his safety-first approach?

It will most likely be Howell, but it might be a closer competition than many might think. A veteran QB such as Brissett will get better and better in camp as he adjusts to his new surroundings and the playbook.

Jacoby, if nothing else, is in the upper echelon of back-ups in the NFL and with the rate of QBs who have gone down injured in Washington, this was a sensible free agent acquisition.

In conclusion, UKHTTC has to concede that the Commanders are way down the list of the 32 franchises for assured quality at this position. But Howell flashed against Dallas and team-mates such as WR Jahan Dotson are already singing his praises as the starter.

Extra point: in the event of a disaster with both QB1 and QB2 going down, the third stringer is Jake Fromm.

Do not completely rule out that the team might still be reasonably functional in that difficult scenario. It is not impossible to predict that Fromm could provide an adequate level of play in a Bieniemy West Coast passing attack.