Sunday Pulpit: It's time to start viewing O.J. Howard as elite
Surprised by O.J. Howard’s meteoric rise this offseason as one of the top prospects in this NFL Draft?
You shouldn’t be.
After all, if the former Alabama tight end proved one thing during his puzzling college career it’s that he’s pretty good at sneaking up out of nowhere. The entire Clemson secondary can attest to that. In fact, whenever Howard’s name is called on April 27, there might not be a more excited fan base than the one in Clemson, S.C., if only to celebrate the moment as a final reminder that he is out of the Tiger's hair for good.
In two national championship appearances against Clemson, Howard totaled 314 yards and three touchdowns. That’s roughly 20 percent of a somewhat frustrating Crimson Tide career that saw him total just 1,726 yards and seven touchdowns over four seasons at Alabama.
However, as Howard proved recently, numbers can be a fickle beast.
After failing to fill up the stat sheet at Alabama, the 6-foot-6, 251-pound tight end lit up the NFL Combine, running a 4.51 40 while bench pressing 22 reps at 225 pounds. He also had the fastest time among tight ends in the 3-cone drill (6.85 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.16 seconds) and 60-yard shuttle (11.46 seconds).
Those numbers have NFL scouts drooling and have also transformed Howard from as borderline first-round selection to a projected top 10 pick. In his latest mock draft, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay has Howard going No. 4 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. If that were to happen, it would tie Howard with former Green Bay Packers great Ron Kramer as the highest selected tight end of all time.
To put things in perspective, former Tide receiver Amari Cooper was selected No. 4 in 2015 after winning the Biletnikoff Award during his junior year. Wide receiver Julio Jones, thought by many to be the most talented player to play under head coach Nick Saban at Alabama, was selected No. 6 in 2011.
While Howard’s production in college doesn’t come close to matching either of the former Tide receivers, he has more than held his own with the duo in terms of athleticism. Howard’s 40 time is just .10 slower than Cooper’s, despite being 40 pounds heavier and five inches taller.
A better comparison might be with Jones, who was clocked with a 4.39 40 and plays more of a physical style than Cooper. Howard’s never going to develop 4.3-speed, but at 6-foot-6, lining up in the slot against linebackers, he’ll be just as much of a nightmare to scheme against at the next level.
It’s Howard’s position that makes him so valuable to NFL teams; that and his ability to contribute in so many ways on offense. Sure, Howard would have liked to have seen the ball more at Alabama. However, he can thank the Tide’s run-heavy scheme for building him into the nation’s most complete package at the position.
Tight ends like Howard don’t just grow on trees.
“It’s hard to find a guy that can play split out like a lot of people want to use their tight end, a guy that can play in the C area as a C-area blocker and a guy that can play off the ball and do a lot of things that’s more fullback like, what you know from the old days of football,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during the Tide's Pro Day earlier this month. “So to find a guy that can do all three of those things is really difficult. O.J.’s one of those guys who can do that.”
I’ll admit, I did a double-take seeing Howard’s name projected as the first Alabama player off the board. However, upon further consideration, it just makes sense. Nevermind Alabama, there might not be another player in the draft who offers as much versatility or can make a difference in as many ways
It’s time to start looking at Howard a little differently.
NFL teams certainly are.