Cashius Howell, Texas A&M: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Howell was a three-star recruit from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. in the class of 2021

The Texas A&M Aggies featured a star-studded defensive line this season, and Bowling Green transfer Cashius Howell generated consistent pop plays. He projects as a Day 3 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft but might choose to return to school for next season.

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Cashius Howell, Edge Texas A&M: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior outside linebacker from Kansas City, Mo.

Background: Howell was a three-star recruit from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 2,161 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,794 for On3.com. Howell was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 73 grade out of 100. He transferred from Bowling Green to Texas A&M for the 2024 season. Howell lettered three times in high school, amassing 150 tackles, 21 sacks, five rushing touchdowns, and two passing touchdowns in his career. As a junior, Howell recorded 14 total sacks, including a school record six in one game. He was a team captain in football and played on the school basketball team. Howell’s father, Maximillian, played hockey at Miami (OH).

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2023 Third Team All-MAC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, impressive speed on inside stunts, negates length disadvantage with good hand placement inside the blocker’s frame, nice power in arm extensions when he gets into a blocker’s frame, long-arm move, uses long-arm to pry open the B-gap, counters into B-gap with speed, elongates steps to exchange gaps mid-rush, excellent spin move, swim move, speed to power, two-handed swipe, leg drive to move linemen and close run lanes, flows with good speed to the football, pursuit range, fluid enough mover to drop into shallow coverages, fast enough to run with Mason Taylor in coverage (2024), reads the quarterback’s eyes to anticipate throws

Cons: Undersized frame, arm length, size limits play strength, stiffness appears to limit his bend, lacks elite burst off the line, speed rush fails to provide consistent wins, inconsistent ability to finish power rush after winning early in the rep, sealed by TE blocks in the run game, displaced downfield by double teams, taken out of plays by chip blocks, late to separate from blocks in the run game sometimes, late to recognize screens, limited tackle radius

Overview: Howell primarily aligns at 5-tech and wide-9 for the Aggies in a two-point stance. His frame is undersized, and his arm length likely falls short of the league’s thresholds. Howell overcomes his arm length limitations with precise hand placement that grants him access to the offensive lineman’s trunk. Despite his limited size, he drives nice power through his arm extensions and long-arms to walk linemen back into the pocket. Howell lacks elite play strength but competes above his size. He uses his long-arm move to pry open the B-gap. The redshirt junior also counters into the B-gap with pure speed or elongated, gap-exchanging steps. His spin move is one of the best in the 2025 class. He also uses swims, two-handed swipes, and speed to power. Howell showcases impressive speed on inside stunts. He lacks elite burst off the line and doesn’t generate consistent wins with his speed rush. The former three-star recruit suffers from stiffness in his hips that limits his bend. He still offers decent bend but falls far short of elite. Howell generates nice initial movement with his power rushes but struggles to finish those plays with pressures or sacks as his leg drive gradually wears down or the offensive tackle re-anchors. In the run game, Howell generates enough push to drive linemen backward and close run lanes. He primarily contributes as a pursuit-style defender who uses his speed and range to hunt down ball carriers. Blocking tight ends can get the best of Howell, and he has no counter for double teams. He’s sometimes late to separate from blocks because of his size and arm length. Howell is a fluid enough mover to handle shallow coverage assignments. He reads the quarterback’s eyes to close throwing lanes. Howell displayed his useful downfield speed while smothering Mason Taylor in 2024.

Overall, Howell is an undersized edge rusher who has developed his hand usage and pass rush plan to negate his physical limitations. He projects best as a rotational player and special teamer early in his career who could earn more defensive snaps as his pass rush arsenal expands and his play strength improves.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

Round Grade: Late Fourth to Early Fifth Round

Size: 6'4", 245 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 12-03-24