The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is here! Players are running actual athletic drills (although not all of them – more on that later). We are inching ever so closely to the 2026 NFL offseason where the Bucs will have to make some big decisions to balance their roster. The defense has been the crux of my focus this offseason looking at multiple positions to find players who may be able to help Tampa Bay get back to a top-notch defense. Up next is Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell.

After working on quite a few draft and free agent linebackers, I am now shifting my focus to the edge position, where the Bucs will need to find a running mate for Yaya Diaby and perhaps some additional depth. Previous edge scouting reports are as follows:

Draft – David Bailey, T.J. Parker, Rueben Bain Jr., Akheem Mesidor

Howell is a commonly mocked player to the Bucs at pick 15, so I was interested to see what he offers that might be helpful to Tampa Bay’s defense.

Cashius Howell Scouting Report

Background and College Career

Howell was a three-star prospect in 2021 out of Missouri after playing both football and basketball in high school. He committed to Bowling Green where he played for three years, totaling 50 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.

Howell entered the transfer portal in 2024 as a four-star prospect and committed to Texas A&M. Over the past two seasons with the Aggies he has compiled 71 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 15.5 sacks, 13 passes defended and two forced fumbles.

Games Watched

2025 Florida, 2025 Missouri, 2025 Miss St

Athletic Traits

Height: 6’2.5 (24th percentile)

Weight: 253 pounds (12th percentile)

Arm length: 30.25″ (0th percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.59 seconds (94th percentile)

10-yard split: 1.58 seconds (93rd percentile)

Vertical jump: 32.5″ (59th percentile)

Broad jump: 115″ (61st percentile)

Howell is extremely quick off the snap, and he can sustain his speed up the arc and around the corner. But his play-strength is extremely lacking. Offensive linemen can bang him completely out of his gap. He has fantastic bend and uses his hands well to keep tackles off his frame. He has short arms, but they don’t seem to create issues for him.

His footwork is fast and he can change direction quickly due to extremely flexible joints and fantastic balance. He tested merely average in the vertical and broad jumps at the combine, but on tape he is plenty explosive.

Nov 15, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) reacts after a defensive play during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Pass Rushing

Howell wins to the outside with speed, a euro step and a cross chop to turn the corner. It’s a successful way of executing on a consistent basis. He can also win the corner with a nasty dip where his athleticism just takes over. All of this plays up due to his relentless motor and play demeanor. His speed-power and diversity of attacks continually close space in the pocket.

He changes up and wins inside via an inside spin move or a fluid arm over that he pairs with his fluid change of direction. He bursts off the line like he’s shot out of a cannon and can cause panic in tackles leading them to overset. This also prevents him from getting locked out by long-armed tackles because he explodes into their frames and negates their arm length.

He can reduce his surface area as he slides inside of gaps. He also plays with good pad level. But his play-strength concerns me. Chips can knock him fully off his rush path and compromise his gap integrity. And he could improve his hand fighting technique and consistency.

His fluid movements should also make him a unique weapon as a looper playing modern games.

I’ve never seen it before: #TexasAM EDGE Cashius Howell single handedly ended a drive Saturday with three consecutive sacks.

✅Bend around the edge
✅Strength to gain ground and push
✅Finesse and Body Control to finish on the quarterback.

Savvy, pro-ready NFL EDGE weapon.… https://t.co/tvuaZWa01q pic.twitter.com/nxz54sm9Dz

— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) September 8, 2025

Fitting the Run

Howell struggles to be a value add in the run game. His lack of play strength makes it difficult for him to hold up at the point of attack, and his strange stances can put him out of position to set a proper edge or make a play. He is up for the fight though – he is willing to bang and can occasionally toss an overly aggressive offensive tackle.

Cashius Howell is full of bark until he has to go against a real dog pic.twitter.com/ERd9rxHdkf

— art (@canefilms) December 20, 2025

His pad level helps him hold the point of attack better than expected, but it can’t fully make up for his lack of play strength which gets him bullied far too often. This also leads to him struggling to make tackles off blocks.

Howell’s lone hope to develop into a four-down player is to master his footwork to sidestep and out-maneuver linemen with his superior fluidity. It’s a low percentage outcome though.

Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (61) blocks Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Coverage

Howell isn’t very adept at dropping into coverage, often going into a full half-turn and getting out-leveraged by the route concept. You can see panic in his movements due to his discomfort in the assignment.

IQ & Intelligence

Reads play action and can hang with quarterbacks rolling out, but he is slow to recognize bluff blocks and cover flats. In general, he is a slow processor. Whatever defense he goes to will need to ask him to play fast and live with blown assignments in favor of his ability to create high-leverage plays.

Other

Howell uses multiple stances that are unorthodox. One is a half turn stance pre snap. He may think this helps him turn the corner, but it can also put him out of position in the run game. Another one is a direct angle to the quarterback that puts him out of leverage on outside zone to his side. Whatever team drafts him will need to coach him to a more consistent and balanced stance.

Best Role and Fit For The Bucs

At the NFL level, Howell will struggle to get on the field his rookie year on early downs. He will best be deployed as a designated pass rusher on pass obvious downs. With coaching on his footwork, stance and hand technique, Howell could get to a point where he’s a net neutral as a run defender which would provide him with a path to additional playing time. This arc is reminiscent of Nik Bonitto’s career arc in the NFL.

Howell isn’t a pure fit for a Todd Bowles defense. The Bucs typically look for players who can be three-down players and play the run physically. Bowles also said recently that he is looking to getting bigger as they build this year’s version of the roster. Howell doesn’t fit that mold very well.

But his pass rush juice is undeniable and something the Bucs could use. So, I could see them bending on some of their normal guardrails to add a much needed and extremely valuable trait. Howell’s limitations put a ceiling on him as a three-down player, but his upside as a pass rusher makes for an interesting conversation as far as how much that can outweigh the early down struggles and where he could be selected.

Hear Cashius Speak

NFL Draft evaluations are as much about the person as the player. Teams want to understand the person as much as the player. How do they think? How do they interpret the game? Who are they as someone who must integrate into a locker room? We can’t see nearly as much of this as teams do in their in-person interviews, but this year I want to help all of us hear more from the players that we evaluate.

With that in mind, here is an interview Cashius did with Texas A&M Athletics in-house media team last year.

Howell’s discussion of the chip on his shoulder not being a heavy recruit out of high school shows up on the field. He plays fast and hard as if he has to prove something on every rush.