"Cannon armed arm talent and emotes Tim Tebow with his scrambles and grit but craves on schedule reads or he'll freeze in the pocket."
Strengths:
Cannon armed guy with impressive arm talent that emotes Tebow when he tucks it. Can make every throw and test tight windows. Solid footwork and mechanics.
Makes undefendable throws regularly. Tough, durable and turns into Mike Alsott on the run. Has a clutch gene. Top tier college production.
Weaknesses:
More or less a one read and tuck it guy. Holds in the pocket when it's not there and takes sacks. Slow reader.
Takes too much punishment as a runner and scrambler and won't survive that style as a pro.
Overall:
In structure, with a supporting cast, Howell looks like an elite QB. He can make every throw anywhere on the field. He's comfortable finding space in the pocket and throwing on the run. He's a gritty guy that can ride the lulls and come up big in the clutch. Outside of structure, however, his game gets especially messy.
The rub is that he's a slow reader that can look lost if the scheduled up read isn't there. Desperately needs a check down or he's eyes come down and he starts clawing for run daylight. He's a brushing runner with deceptive speed but embraces contact like a FB and often gets wrecked.