What did pre-draft scouting reports said about New Orleans Saints rookie defensive back Jordan Howden? There is some quibbling about his coverage techniques and applying the impressive athleticism in his testing numbers, but Minnesota’s team captain has a lot of potential. Here’s what some draft analysts wrote about him before the Saints picked Howden in the fifth round of the 2023 draft:
STRENGTHS: Meets the height/weight/speed thresholds for most schemes … sleek and controlled when changing directions … decisive to key and diagnose … trusts eyes to lead him to the ball … comes to balance on the move and doesn’t allow ball carriers to escape his grasp when he is in position (missed tackle rate decreased each year) … flashes secondary quickness after shedding blocks … hunts crossers and will stroke ball carriers across the middle … intelligent zone player and feels routes coming … breaks quickly to make plays on the ball in the air … well-versed on special teams coverages (527 career snaps) … played in 58 games over five seasons with the Gophers.
WEAKNESSES: Needs to button up his reactions to play development … misjudges downhill angles in run support and struggles to leverage the field, allowing runners to get outside … will benefit by adding strength to match up with NFL talent … play action and eye candy will lure him off his spot … upright, predetermined backpedal and wastes too many steps … mirroring skills will fail him and concede separation to pass catchers … ball production was fine in college but doesn’t have the ball skills to scare quarterbacks … missed one game because of a thigh injury (September 2021), the only game he missed in five seasons.
SUMMARY: A five-year starter at Minnesota, Howden was part of a rotation in defensive coordinator Joe Rossi’s scheme, seeing snaps in the box, split and against the slot. A former walk-on cornerback, he was pressed into action as a freshman after Antoine Winfield Jr. was injured. He is one of the more battle-tested defensive backs in this draft class (more than 3,000 career snaps). Howden sees the field well from different alignments, but his reaction quickness to break on throws tends to be inconsistent. He made clear strides in his finishing skills as a tackler, but his pursuit angles tend to be inconsistent. Overall, Howden doesn’t consistently play up to his impressive testing numbers, but he is football smart and has a feel for limiting big plays. He is a potential backup and special-teamer.
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Brett Yarris, Pro Football Network
Strengths: Hard-working, run-defending safety with good instincts. Physical, plays faster than his 40 time, and quickly picks up assignments. Keeps the action in front of him, stays on the receiver’s hip, and shows solid ball skills facing the action. Tracks the pass in the air, has a nice move to the throw, and displays good hands for the interception. Fires upfield to defend the run and wraps up tackling.
Weaknesses: Comes with average speed despite playing faster than his 40 time. Slow getting his head back around to track the pass in the air in man-coverage situations and does a lot of faceguarding.
Overall: Howden was productive all five seasons he was on the field at Minnesota and is a zone-safety prospect who should also add value on special teams.
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Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
Howden is a football-savvy free safety with good instincts and play recognition but a lack of acceleration, which could create a plethora of problems for him on the pro level. He’s quick to diagnose the run, but will need to improve his tackle technique. A lack of recovery juice could get him mismatched on the pro game, but he sees route combinations well when allowed to play as a two-deep safety. Howden has played a lot of football and can help on special teams but needs to prove himself as a tester at the NFL Scouting Combine.
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