Teams Warned Not to Sleep on This Edge-Rusher in NFL Draft

Heading into the 2026 NFL draft, edge-rusher is one of the more loaded positions in the draft class.

As many as seven pass-rushers could hear their names called in Round 1, but Pete Prisco of CBS Sports thinks teams could be sleeping on one of the better ones, which he thinks would be a mistake.

"Most of the talk is Cashius Howell will be a second-round pick - he should be a first-rounder in my book," Prisco stated. "I love his game. He is a nasty player who never lets up. At 6-foot-2 ½, 245 pounds, he is a strong player who has the twitch and power teams love off the edge. When I watched his tape, the thing that stood out to me was his power.

"He does have short arms, which concern some teams, but they shouldn’t back off of him because of that. I think he will be a really good edge player in the league for a long time. To start, he will be a rotational rusher, but as his career moves along I think he will be so much more."

Howell is part of a loaded edge-rusher group that also features Miami's Rueben Bain Jr., Texas Tech's David Bailey, Miami's Akheem Mesidor, Auburn's Keldrick Faulk, Clemson's T.J. Parker, and Missouri's Zio Young - all of whom have first-round grades.

The 6-foot-2, 248-pound edge-rusher was a force along the Texas A&M defensive line last season. Howell totaled 41 pressures, 27 hurries, 14 tackles for loss, 12 QB hits, 11.5 sacks, six passes defended, and a forced fumble, per Pro Football Focus.

Bain Jr. and Bailey are projected to go in the top 10, but several DE-needy teams including the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could all be potential landing spots for Howell at the end of Round 1 if there's a run on pass-rushers.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 12:14 PM.