In what shouldn’t be considered surprising news, Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera named Sam Howell as their starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
A second-year quarterback out of North Carolina, Howell was at least somewhat engaged in a quarterback competition with veteran Jacoby Brissett during training camp. It became relatively clear this summer that Howell would end up beating out Brissett.
Now that this is indeed the case, attention turns to what Howell brings to the table and how much success the former fifth-round pick can have out of the gate.
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There are a ton of indicators leading us to believe that the youngster will surprise many with his performance. The structure is in place with the Commanders for him to succeed. That includes a new offensive coordinator, some talented skill-position players and Howell’s own talent level.
Washington Commanders’ offense fits Sam Howell
This is the first key to a young quarterback having success. His team must boast the necessary offensive system, coaching and surrounding talent to help out an inexperienced signal caller.
We’ll start with new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who comes over from the Kansas City Chiefs and is among the most-respected assistant coaches in the league. Bieniemy has been a candidate for several head coach openings around the NFL and makes his way to Washington as a full-time play caller.
Dating back to his first gig as the Minnesota Vikings’ running backs coach all the way back in 2006, Bieniemy has worked under offenses that are seemingly friendly to quarterbacks of Howell’s ilk. That is to say, mobile signal callers.
Tarvaris Jackson, Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes have been the primary quarterbacks under Bienemy since he entered the league as an assistant. All three displayed an ability to get out of the pocket, succeeding both through the air and on the ground when mobile.
Howell was no different during his college days with the Tar Heels, going for 828 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior in 2021. He’s shown the very same mobility in limited playing time as a professional. Dating back to his first preseason with the Commanders, Howell has run the ball 19 times on 137 drop backs (13.8%). Bienemy’s offense calls for this type of success on the ground for a quarterback. Howell has proven he’ll fit right in.
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Washington Commanders skill-position group
It starts with Pro Bowl wide receiver Terry McLaurin. The former third-round pick from Ohio State has morphed into one of the most consistent threats in the NFL. He’s done so playing with less-than-stellar quarterbacks in Washington.
Catching passes from the likes of Carson Wentz (11 TD, 9 INT) and Taylor Heinicke (12 TD, 6 INT), a season ago, McLaurin put up 77 receptions for 1,191 yards and five touchdowns. But his success goes much further than that.
Washington quarterbacks completed 64.2% of their passes for a 103.9 QB rating when targeting McLaurin. These very same signal callers had a combined passer rating of 84.7 throughout the 2022 season. The consistency of McLaurin (2.5% drop rate in 2022) is going to help Howell big time.
The Commanders’ first-round pick last year, Jahan Dotson is now slated to start opposite McLaurin as a sophomore. He displayed flashes last season with seven touchdowns on 35 receptions. The Penn State product has seemingly upped his game after his first full offseason in the NFL:
Dotson has also raved about the presence of Bieniemy in Washington, and how it’s helped change things.
“Coach Bieniemy, I feel like he’s brought culture to our team. He’s brought a sense of energy, a sense of urgency,” Dotson told reporters back in June. “It’s been really good just being able to learn from him and just get familiar with the things he wants us to do and the things we want to do.”
Continuity between the quarterback, his top receivers and the offensive play caller is no small thing. It sets the passing game up to succeed out of the gate.
This doesn’t take into account the presence of running backs Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson in Washington.
By now, you likely already know that Robinson’s rookie season was clouded by an incident in the summer in which he was shot during an attempted carjacking. The Alabama product miraculously recovered in time to make it on the field for 12 games, tallying 857 total yards in 12 games.
As for Gibson, he was relegated to special teams and backup duties under then-offensive coordinator Scott Turner in 2022. This came after the youngster tallied north of 1,300 total yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore the previous season. What we do know is that Gibson brings a catch-first mentality to the backfield.
In his three seasons with the Commanders, Gibson has caught 124 passes while hauling in a resounding 81% of his targets. Young quarterbacks tend to have success when they’re able to use running backs as an outlet. Even if Gibson struggles on the ground, he brings that to the table for Sam Howell.
In the end, the onus is going to be on Howell to do his thing. That’s the way it is in today’s quarterback-driven league. But the Commanders have pieces in place for him to succeed out of the gate.
For the first time in a while, there’s an aura of confidence within the Commanders organization. Some of that has to do with the departure of embattled former owner Daniel Snyder. But on the field, things are certainly looking up. It starts with the Commanders finally having a young quarterback they envision to be the long-term solution.