NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe views Cashius Howell as an 'outlier'

Key notes from Cameron Wolfe interview

• Yes, I cover the league from a South Florida perspective. I keep up a little bit with college, but I play a lot of catch-up this time of year. I’m full-speed every week at a game through the Super Bowl. The week before the NFL Combine is usually where I start to dive in. I haven’t caught up yet on watching tape and seeing what these guys can do. What’s good for me for the combine, though, is that I can talk to people who have been doing it for three or four months. So they can tell me, “Hey, watch this guy,” and it may cut down on my time. I don’t have to watch 300 guys, but maybe twelve or thirteen that I really want to watch.
   
• Yeah, I knew Miami’s talent was building. I was at their Pro Day when Cam Ward was there. He did great, but I remember talking to Mario Cristobal, and he said, “You’re going to be back here next year for my linemen.” That’s what really stood out about them this year. The two defensive ends are Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, and then Francis Mauigoa on the other side. They were really good up front, and we saw that against A&M. Carson Beck gave A&M a couple of chances in that game, but their trenches are where they took over. So I think this draft is really going to be about the D-Line, and you talk about Cashius Howell, and that guy’s going to be a player in this league.
   
• You know who doesn’t care about Howell’s short arms? Quarterbacks, when they’re running away from them. I don’t get too caught up in that. It’s the league of exceptions that really stands out. I was talking to someone the other day about De’Von Achane, and he’s an outlier in size. He would normally be considered a small back, but he doesn’t play small. And that’s why he’s become one of the best backs in football. Howell’s arms may be short on paper, but he doesn’t play like that. If I can get a guy who can impact my quarterback, I don’t need to measure his arms.
   
• I think the biggest thing for Achane was proving that he could be a full load three-down back. When he came out of college, there were questions about whether he was going to be a part-time back. He’s shut all of that up. I think his biggest development in the past year was his development in the passing game. I remember talking to him in the offseason, and he said he wanted to be an elite pass-catching back. That’s the big thing he worked on. We saw that on the field. The running backs that are duel-threat guys, those guys that can catch the ball, are the ones that are separated.
   
• Teams always say you don’t scout the helmet, but come on, we’re human. It means more if you see a guy with an A&M helmet as opposed to an Appalachian State helmet. The reason is that you know the talent that you are recruiting, and they’re competing in the SEC. It’s easier to transition to the NFL when you’ve been playing with competition like the SEC. If it’s equal, you go with the bigger school.
   
• We know the legacy programs, and Indiana has never been mentioned. To see the joy of a fanbase that maybe never thought they would be football champions… In an era where NIL and it’s all about buying the right roster, you saw what team and culture building can do for a program.