Washington adds a safety, quarterback, tight end, guard, corner on day 3
April 30, 2022
by Steve Thomas
The Washington Redskins Washington Football Team Washington Commanders Washington drafted Louisiana safety Percy Butler with pick 8, 113th overall, and then traded pick 8 in round 4, 113th overall, and pick 10 in round 6, 189th overall, to the Carolina Panthers for picks 1 and 6 in round five, 144th and 149th, respectively. With picks 1 and 6 in round 5, Washington drafted North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell and Nevada tight end Cole Turner. Then, in round 7, the team drafted guard Chris Paul from the University of Tulsa and Oklahoma St. cornerback Christian Holmes.
Percy Butler
Butler, who stands 6’0” and weighs 194 pounds, spent four seasons at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, playing in 42 games, and made 167 total tackles, including 107 solo and 9 for loss, and had 3 interceptions. In 2021, Butler played 13 games and made 60 total tackles, including 36 solo and 6 for loss, and had 1 interception, and earned Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. At the NFL Combine, he ran the 40 yard dash in 4.36 seconds, and jumped 31.5 inches in the vertical leap and 10’3” in the standing broad jump.
Butler is known as an elite special team performer. He was a gunner at Louisiana and has multiple highlight reel hits in that capacity. Scouts view Butler as having good instincts, but as being fairly average in coverage. Others have questioned his range while in single-high coverage schemes and have noted that he occasionally takes bad angles in run defense. However, his speed and burst are a benefit to his game. Some have claimed that Butler is one of the best, if not the best, coverage safety in the draft.
It is likely that Washington views Butler as a potential core special teamer and as a backup in the safety group. He will have the opportunity to compete for a starting role opposite Kamren Curl, but it is likely that he will slot into a backup position, at least initially.
Sam Howell
Howell, 6’1” and 218 pounds, is a true junior, having spent three years at North Carolina, starting each season. In total, he played 37 games, with 713 completions in 1117 attempts, 10,283 yards, a 63.8% completion percentage, 92 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions, plus 1009 rushing yards in 369 carries, for an average of 2.7 yards per carry. In 2021, Howell made 217 completions in 347 attempts, 3056 yards, a 62.5% completion percentage, 24 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He earned Second-team All-ACC honors in 2020.
Howell has a strong, although not, elite arm by NFL standards. He reads the field well a fair bit of the time and can sometimes make amazing throws into tight windows. The problem is that at other times, he looks awful. Inconsistency is Howell’s trademark. He has a habit of rotating between amazing throws and either bad throws or risky decisions. Howell is a good athlete and can at some level be a dual threat quarterback in the NFL. He wasn’t helped by a North Carolina offensive line that allowed significant pressure at times, and some substandard receiving play. Howell is not unlike last year’s starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke, in that he’s a bit undersized, can run, and has moments of greatness coupled with moments of awful. Certainly, Howell is a better prospect than was Heinicke when he came out of college.
I had Howell rated as a low second round prospect. He’s a great value as a fifth round selection. With Carson Wentz on the roster in Washington, the team won’t look to him to start and time soon, but the open question will be whether the team keeps three quarterbacks on the roster. In the best case scenario, he beats out Heinicke for the backup role. Otherwise, Howell will either serve as the third stringer on the active roster or spend the year on the practice squad.
Cole Turner
Turner, who is 6’6” and 246 pounds, played 26 games in four years at Nevada, making 117 receptions for 1370 yards, 11.7 yards per reception, and 20 touchdowns. In 2021, Turner played 11 games, making 62 receptions for 677 yards, 10.9 yards per reception, and 10 touchdowns. At the NFL Combine, Turner ran the 40 yard dash in 4.76 seconds, did 17 bench press reps, jumped 27 inches in the vertical leap and 10’0” in the standing broad jump, and ran 7.06 in the 3 cone drill and 4.41 in the 20 yard shuttle run.
Turner is another prospect who scouts view as a good pass-catching prospect with quality hands and route-running ability. He’s not known as a particularly quality blocker and may not have plus-level strength by NFL tight end standards, but has a history of getting 50/50 receptions and has the skills and body to become a good NFL pass-catching tight end.
Turner joins starter Logan Thomas, who’s coming off of injury, last year’s fourth round pick, John Bates, and shot-in-the-dark international prospect Sammis Reyes. Assuming Thomas is healthy, he’s the starter, but Turner has a legitimate shot to compete with Bates for the #2 role.
Chris Paul
Paul, who is 6’4” and 323 pounds, spent five years at the University of Tulsa, redshirting his freshman year and was a four year starter. He is intelligent and working on an MBA at Tulsa. He exhibited strong leadership qualities, serving in multiple leadership groups and being involved in advocacy for his Tulsa peers as an NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member.
At the NFL Combine, Paul ran the 40 yard dash in 4.89 seconds, jumped 27 inches in the vertical leap and 9’1” in the standing broad jump, and ran the 3 cone drill in 7.74 seconds and the 20 yard shuttle in 4.83 seconds.
Paul played right tackle at Tulsa in 2020 and 2021, plus one year at left guard and one on the right side. He projects as a guard in the NFL. He has the size and strength of an NFL guard, but is thought to have limited lateral mobility. Some scouts believe that he has good hand technique but plays too upright for an NFL guard.
Paul joins a crowded Washington interior offensive line group, but considering that the only true, lock for a starting job is Andrew Norwell, he will have an opportunity to impress in training camp and earn a spot on the active roster.
Christian Holmes
Holmes, who is 6’1” and weighs 205 pounds, played three seasons at the University of Missouri form 2016 to 2019, but redshirted in 2017 due to a shoulder injury. He then transferred to Oklahoma St. in 2020, and played 2021 as a graduate student. In total, he played in 48 games, and made a total of 129 tackles, including 103 solo, and had 3 interceptions. In 2021, he played in 14 games and made 39 tackles, including 33 solo, and had 1 interception, and was a First Team Academic All-Big 12 selection. He was not invited to the NFL Combine, but was timed at 4.53 seconds in the 40 yard dash in high school.
Analysts view him as being an above-average athlete whose best strength in the NFL may be as a special teamer. He’s thought to be good in run defense, and successful in off-man coverage in college.
In the defensive back room, Holmes will be behind entrenched starters William Jackson II and Kendall Fuller, as well as Benjamin St-Juste, who was a third round pick last year. The bottom end of the corner group does present opportunity for Holmes, though, so if he can make his mark on special teams, he’ll have a shot to make the roster.