Texas A&M's Cashius Howell could transform any NFL team with a struggling pass rush if they take him in the upcoming NFL Draft.
The college football season has come to an end with Indiana beating Miami in the national championship, so now it is time to look to not just the NFL playoffs, but the upcoming draft as well.
And with the 2026 NFL Draft coming up, mock drafts are going to start flying all over the place.
In a recent article by Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus, he puts together his own mock draft now that the college football season is over. And with the 15th pick in his mock, he thinks the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should draft Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell.
"Tampa Bay struggled to generate pressure without blitzing this season and needs another dynamic edge rusher to complement Yaya Diaby," Wasserman writes. "Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell may be undersized, but he has earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 90.0 in each of the past three seasons. The final two of those seasons came in the SEC, and he led the conference with 12 sacks this year."
The Buccaneers were in the bottom half of the league this past season in sacks, as they were not really able to find consistency getting to the quarterback.
But Howell could definitely help out with that.
The 22-year-old edge rusher finished this season with an impressive 11.5 sacks, which placed him second in the SEC only behind Texas Longhorn Colin Simmons. His 14 tackles for loss placed him seventh in the conference, and he was also able to show his versatility and defend six passes.
After starting his college career at Bowling Green, Howell transferred to the Aggies after his breakout season in 2023. While it took him a bit to get going and make his impact felt, he did just that in his final year with Texas A&M.
The leader in sacks for the Buccaneers this season was YaYa Diaby, and while he is a great player, the leader in sacks should most likely have more than seven. As a result, they could look for some help getting to the quarterback in the draft.
And if it's pressure you are looking for in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Aggies' superstar edge rusher is one of the best in the class.