How Does Cashius Howell Compare to Other EDGE Prospects?![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01khpnxv9efeazz573sq.jpg\" "\\"Texas")
<\/p>\n
Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) rushes past Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Markel Bell (70) during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Howell was one of the most dominant defensive players in the country. He was the 11th Aggie to receive unanimous All-American consideration. His 11.5 sacks were a career-high, ranking seventh nationally and second in the SEC. He was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.<\/p>\n
Heading into his rookie season, Howell will be 23 years old, having spent five seasons in college. He is not a young prospect, but a five-year college career has become commonplace in the transfer portal\/NIL era.<\/p>\n
He has proven production at multiple levels; he led the MAC in sacks in 2023 and dominated the SEC. However, there are some concerns about his projection at the NFL level. Listed at 6’2″, 248 pounds, Howell is a bit undersized for his position, particularly in terms of length.<\/p>\n
While he was invited to the Senior Bowl, he did not participate<\/a>, so we do not yet have official measurements. He was reported<\/a> to have a spring measurement of 30 6\/8″, well below the typical threshold of 33\u201334″.<\/p>\n Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) defends in coverage against the Auburn Tigers during the first half at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n This makes Howell a potentially volatile prospect for the NFL draft. Some teams may be spooked by his lack of arm length, despite his statistical production. According to Ryan Roberts of A to Z Sports<\/a>, no player with sub-31″ arms has made a Pro Bowl or recorded double-digit sacks in a season.<\/p>\n Howell is not the only high-end EDGE prospect with this concern, though. Miami (FL) pass-rusher Rueben Bain Jr. is expected to measure similarly for his arm length. The 270-pound Bain could potentially play more inside, while Howell is a true outside rusher. This could pigeonhole Howell into a designated pass rusher role in the NFL.<\/p>\n Regardless of potential concerns, Howell is a projected first-round pick and often considered a top-five player at his position. He is competing with other defensive line prospects \u2014 Bain, Texas Tech\u2019s David Bailey, Auburn\u2019s Keldric Faulk, Clemson\u2019s TJ Parker and Miami (FL)\u2019s Akheem Mesidor \u2014 to be selected early in the 2026 NFL draft.<\/p>\n Howell is currently listed as the No. 2 outside linebacker by ESPN\u2019s Mel Kiper Jr.<\/a>, the No. 3 edge rusher by PFF\u2019s Trevor Sikkema<\/a> and the No. 5 edge rusher by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) reacts after a defensive play during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kyle Field. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Cashius Howell\u2019s NFL Draft Projection<\/p>\n Howell is currently projected as a first-round draft pick. He is ranked 18th among all draft prospects and fourth among all edge rushers by the 2026 Consensus Big Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, his range in mock drafts is quite significant. PFF\u2019s Gordon McGuinness<\/a> had Howell going eighth overall to the New Orleans Saints in a recent mock draft, while NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah<\/a> dropped Howell out of the first round after having him go 15th in his first mock draft.<\/p>\n Teams that need help on the edge include the Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Howell could also be a good fit for a team looking for a designated pass rusher, including the San Francisco 49ers or Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Could Texas A&M produce its second first-round edge rusher in a row? The program had been criticized for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,6,15],"class_list":["post-760124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl-draft","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116091229516161150","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01khppwn8rn9j1ezp9d3.jpg\" "\\"Texas")
<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01khpqsx1eesfkhzn5rt.jpg\" "\\"Texas")
<\/p>\n