O.J. Howard

One of the primary questions scouts ask when projecting college players to the NFL is how well players will perform against top competition. For Howard, the opposite might be the bigger concern. Despite obvious physical tools - including an imposing frame, rare straight-line speed and soft hands - Howard was inexplicably ignored as a receiver throughout much of his career at Alabama. His career numbers (114 receptions for 1,726 yards and seven touchdowns) hardly suggest that he will be a first round pick, though he almost certainly will be. His production would be even less impressive if his gaudy totals against Clemson in the past two national championship games were thrown out of the equation. In those two contests - the only two over Howard's career in which he eclipsed the 100 yard receiving mark - Howard was nearly unstoppable, hauling in a combined nine passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns. On the surface, Howard's story reads like many of the other highly regarded prospects in Nick Saban's football factory in Tuscaloosa. Blessed with obvious physical gifts, Howard signed with the Tide amid great expectations as a five-star recruit. He earned early playing time, wowing with his combination of size and athleticism. Howard played in all 13 games (and started five times) as a true freshman in 2013, catching 14 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He was held out of the end zone a year later, hauling in 17 passes for 260 yards in 14 game appearances (three starts) as a sophomore. Take away the breakout national title games and Howard's junior (33 catches for 394 yards and zero scores) and senior campaigns (41-489-2) are potentially more alarming than exhilarating. Fortunately for Howard, the NFL drafts prospects based on raw talent not box scores. And with so many mouths to feed in Alabama's offense, scouts are likely to give Howard the benefit of the doubt with the expectation that he - like former under-utilized Alabama pass-catchers like Amari Cooper and Julio Jones - will excel once featured in the NFL.

in our view

Despite his lack of production, Howard is considered the crown jewel in an exceptional class of tight ends. His experience in a pro-style offense suggests that he should be able to contribute immediately and he still possesses plenty of untapped potential.

an explosive athlete with breakaway speed, lateral agility and balance, howard projects well as a "move" tight end and hybrid slot receiver, similar to the way that the new orleans saints (and subsequently the seahawks) have featured graham. he possesses the length and strength to block - showing significant improvement in this area in 2016 - but using him in this way minimizes what makes him special.

--Rob Rang (1/23/17)

strengths

At a shade under 6-feet-6 and 251 pounds, Howard looks more like a power forward than a traditional NFL tight end. He shows quickness and balance in gaining a clean release off the line of scrimmage, slipping by the jabs from defenders because of his body control and fluid athleticism. Howard accelerates smoothly, quickly pulling away from defenders tasked with covering him and is a reliable "hands" catcher, extending and plucking outside of his frame with ease and tracking the ball well over his shoulder. Howard possesses the vision, agility and acceleration to continue the damage after the catch at the next level. Towering over virtually all of the defenders asked to cover him, Howard has learned to use his size to his advantage, lowering his shoulders into would-be tacklers and sprawling his legs in an attempt to keep his knees from touching the turf. Howard shows good timing and body control when leaping for high passes. Howard showed considerable improvement as blocker in 2016, demonstrating greater effort and upper body strength. He possesses the length and strength to lock-out defenders, turning and sealing them to create lanes for teammates.

compares to

Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks

weaknesses

While undeniably gifted, Howard remains far from a finished product. At this time, he is far too reliant on his size and athleticism as a route-runner, showing limited shoulder fakes and altered gaits to keep defenders guessing. The fact that he has not made more progress in Alabama's offense suggests that he may possess only average football intelligence and passion for the game. Howard is not the bulldozer with the ball in his hands that his size would suggest.

Came to Alabama as the top tight end prospect in the class of 2013

participated in the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game

arrived at Alabama as an early enrollee in January of 2013

a five-star prospect and the No. 7 prospect nationally in the Rivals100

Rivals.com top-ranked tight end and No. 2 player in Alabama

247Sports.com ranked him 20th in its Top247 with five stars while listing him as the No. 1 tight end and the No. 2 player in the state

the 247Composite listed him 14th nationally

No. 14 in the Scout 300 and Scout.com's top-ranked tight end

ranked 45th in the ESPN 150, the No. 2 tight end and No. 24 in the southeast region by ESPN

Sporting News No. 32 player in the nation

rated eighth nationally by MaxPreps (Tom Lemming) and the No. 1 tight end

No. 13 player nationally by PrepStar, the publication's No. 1 tight end and a member of the PrepStar Dream Team

three-time first team AISA All-State selection. Missed part of his senior year due to injury, but amassed 854 yards of total offense and 12 touchdowns

accounted for 57 tackles on the defensive side of the ball in 2012

named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association Super 12 team

AISA 2012 Lineman of the Year

as a junior in 2011, had 11 receiving touchdowns, eight rushing scores and also threw for three touchdowns

caught 41 passes for 926 yards while rushing for 487 yards in 2011

had 89 tackles with eight sacks and three forced fumbles on defense during his junior season

as a sophomore in 2010, set the school record with 31 total touchdowns while also breaking the school's receiving records

named the team's 2010 defensive MVP after making 89 tackles with six interceptions and four sacks

coached by Chris Honeycutt at Autauga Academy

chose Alabama over Florida, Southern California and Auburn.

2016

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
45.0	13.2	3.0	68.0	595.0

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0

2015

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
38.0	15.8	2.0	63.0	602.0