Just when we thought that the Cincinnati Bengals were finished after trading for Dexter Lawrence, they went deeper into their “let’s give it a try” bag when they selected Texas A&M pass rusher Cashius Howell with their first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Howell was so far from everything that we were used to the front office targeting in their defensive ends that we can imagine someone saying “let’s do this,” and Duke Tobin replying, “great, we’re going to do the opposite of that.”
That led to drafting an actual productive edge rusher who just so happens to have the shortest arms in the draft at the position.
And if you were wondering what things could look like when Howell takes the field against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we possibly got a positive preview in the season opener between New England and Seattle, as Patriots rookie Gabe Jacas had a promising debut that could portend good things for Cincinnati's edge rusher.
Promising rookie debut for Cashius Howell comp
We’re not sure how many snaps the rookie Howell will get in his NFL debut. However, Jacas had a light workday against the Seahawks with only 19 defensive snaps. And he made light work of New England’s offensive line at times, recording one sack, three tackles, two tackles for loss, and one QB hit.
Howell and Jacas had very similar production in their final collegiate seasons. Jacas finished with 43 tackles, 11 sacks, and 13.5 tackles for loss. Howell notched 31 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 14 tackles for loss.
Another thing Howell and Jacas can commiserate over is their ability to turn pressure into sacks. Howell led all college edge rushers last season with a 28% pressure-to-sack conversion rate. Jacas ranked second on that list at 26.8%. And that pressure-to-sack conversion was on display in the season opener when he sacked Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock.
Hopefully, Howell can also transfer that skill set to the pros, as it would keep the elusive Baker Mayfield from scrambling out of pressure that Cincinnati’s new defensive front is sure to bring.
The not-so-small difference between the two
One of the major factors that separated the two prolific edge rushers was arm length. While Jacas’ 33-inch arms were on the short side, Howell’s were the shortest recorded among all at the position entering the draft.
Fortunately, that didn’t prevent the Bengals from selecting Howell with the 41st pick in the second round. The Patriots took Jacas with the 55th overall pick in the second round.
While the matchup between the Bengals and Buccaneers will feature the much-discussed short arms of Howell and Rueben Bain Jr., Jacas offers another marker to compare Howell to throughout the season, as his skill set compares more favorably to Jacas than to Bain.
And while we’ve already pontificated over what a successful rookie season would look like for Howell, if he can match what Jacas did in his debut, we will have to reevaluate our prognostications for the Bengals edge rusher.
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