O.J. Howard will always be remembered as the freakishly athletic tight end that was never utilized to his full potential at Alabama. Despite playing his two best games in back to back national championships, his career still seems underwhelming to scouts and fans alike.
For the most part, that underwhelming career isn’t a result of anything Howard did. Former offensive coordinators Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian just seemed to forget that he existed unless the Tide was playing on the biggest stage.
Still, people should not expect the same thing for Howard in the NFL. He has the talent to be the focal point of an NFL offense, and one can expect him to be utilized as such on the next level.
Here is our scouting report on O.J. Howard.
Position: Tight End
Hometown: Prattville, Alabama
Height: 6-foot-5 5/8
Weight: 249-pounds
Projected 40-time: 4.55-4.65
Projected Round: 1st Round (Top 16)
STRENGTHS:
There are very few players who possess Howard’s combination of size, speed and overall athleticism. At almost 6’6 249-pounds, it’s almost impossible to ask any defensive player to line up against him and match that natural talent.
His size gives him a significant advantage over defensive backs, but linebackers have a hard time keeping up with him in coverage because of his acceleration, speed and smoothness out of his breaks. He’s a natural pass-catcher who can catch balls away from his body, and he can make adjustments downfield to track the football.
His long arms (31 and 3/4-inches) only add to his already incredible catch-radius, so just putting the football in his vicinity gives him a chance to come down it.
Howard’s biggest improvement over the course of his four-year career at Alabama was his development as a blocker. He was a big weapon lining up in the slot and getting out in front of wide receivers on screens, but he also showed a lot of improvement as an in-line blocker with solid hand placement and a wide base.
WEAKNESSES:
The number one thing that plagued Howard’s time in Tuscaloosa was focus drops. He has shown naturally soft hands, however, so as long as he can clear that up mentally, it doesn’t have to continue to be an issue at the next level.
Several scouts have also mentioned that Howard needs to continue to add weight if he wants to hold up as an in-line blocker in the NFL. While there is some truth to that statement, Howard was one of the most efficient blocking tight ends in all of college football last season. He should be able to hold his own at the next level.
One of the more important aspects to Howard’s game that he needs to clean up is his ability as a route-runner. He isn’t polished in this area, and that results in less separation between him and the covering defender. In the NFL, the window for quarterbacks to throw into is already a lot tighter than in college, so Howard needs to do whatever he can to create as much separation as possible.
CONCLUSION:
O.J. Howard was clearly under-utilized in Alabama’s offense. It’s possible that he might have been the most athletic tight end to ever play for Alabama, but that only resulted in 1,726 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 46 career games.
Howard is currently battling Miami’s David Njoku for the top tight end available in the upcoming draft. However, there are very few people who actually believe Njoku will hear his name get called before Howard.
People should expect to see Howard become a much more effective, utilized tight end in the NFL. He’s a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, and there is no reason to believe that he can’t replicate the success of some of the bigger named tight ends currently in the NFL such as Seattle’s Jimmy Graham or Jacksonville’s Julius Thomas.
Howard could go as high as No. 10 overall to the Buffalo Bills. On the flip side, I wouldn’t expect him to make it past the Denver Broncos who hold the No. 20 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Clint Lamb is a columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
