Commanders confident in Sam Howell amid Lamar Jackson, draft speculation

The Washington Commanders sound ready to rock with 2022 fifth-round draft pick Sam Howell as their starting quarterback past the upcoming NFL Draft. 

"As far as the quarterback position goes, we feel very comfortable with the guys we have," Washington head coach Ron Rivera said during a predraft news conference, as shared by Bryan Manning of Commanders Wire/USA Today. "If you think about it, we have a young guy in Sam that coming out at one point was rated very high. We were fortunate, we believe, to get him where we got him." 

Howell won his lone NFL start which was also his only regular-season appearance as a rookie. The 22-year-old completed just 11-of-19 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 26-6 victory over the division-rival Dallas Cowboys in Week 18. 

Earlier this offseason, Washington signed journeyman Jacoby Brissett to serve as Howell's primary backup. Brissett started 11 games for the Cleveland Browns this past season while Deshaun Watson served a suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions, and the 30-year-old completed 64% of 369 passes for 2,608 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

"We got Jacoby Brissett coming off in what we believe was one of his better years as a player," Rivera added during his comments. "It is one of those things that is funny because, typically, when you get quarterbacks, it is when they are coming off a tough time. We feel good about what we did there as well, and we will see what happens." 

It's widely believed Washington is among the handful of clubs passing on pursuing Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson as Jackson reportedly looks to top the $230M in fully guaranteed money Watson received from the Browns last year. Baltimore used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Jackson's rights for 2023 last month. 

The Commanders head into this weekend holding overall pick No. 16 in the draft that gets underway this coming Thursday. In a mock draft updated this past Tuesday, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay predicted Washington will use that asset to bolster its offensive line.