Texas A&M's dominant edge rusher, named SEC Defensive Player of the Year for 2025, has mock-draft prognosticators advising the Buccaneers to pick him at No. 15.
The day after the Super Bowl is a big day for Mock Drafts, and there's one player who seems to be gaining momentum for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at pick No. 15.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, Blake Brockermeyer of CBS Sports and Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus all have the Bucs taking Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell.
Howell is coming off an SEC Defensive Player of the Year season, when he finished with 11.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, and six passes defended.
He was a productive player before 2025 as well. He ended the 2023 season with 9.5 sacks and had 27 for his career, which started at Bowling Green (2021-2023).
Howell transferred to College Station before the 2025 season, and his production dropped to four sacks, as his role become more rotational in the Aggies' defense.
In 2025, Howell's playing time went up from 419 snaps to 591 snaps, and his production went up, as well.
Even in Howell's "down" year of 2024, the analytics spoke highly of him.
Pro Football Focus gave him an 88.1 pass-rushing grade, which was 0.3 higher than what he had in 2023 at Bowling Green.
This past season, Howell had a 90.3 pass-rushing grade, which ranked in the top 15 nationally amongst players who played at leasst 80 percent of 440 pass-rushing snaps.
Howell's ability to drop into coverage when needed would come in handy for the Bucs, since coach Todd Bowles' defensive schemes often require defensive ends to drop into coverage to disguise blitzes. But ultimately, the No. 1 thing Howell brings is his ability to rush the quarterback, and the Bucs need more people who can do that.
The Bucs finished the season tied for 18th in the league in sacks, and aside from YaYa Diaby, who ended the year with seven, the Bucs lack depth on the edge.
So aside from the numbers, what would make Howell a worthy solution?
Brockermeyer mentioned Howell's speed and long arms as assets, along with his motor and inclination to rush the passer. Additionally, Brockermeyer cited Howell's twitch and get-off as things that can create havoc for opposing offenses.
Jeremiah called Howell "one of my favorite players to study" and wrote that he gives all of himself on every play.
The biggest concern regarding Howell might be his size. He's 248 pounds, which is thought to be undersized by conventional wisdom. But that size also allows for Howell's quickness and motor, for which he's been praised.
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