Week 2 SCOUTING NOTEBOOK: Cashius Howell's sack trick, Mateer sinks Michigan, and more

By Jack Brentnall

With Week 2 in the books, we are starting to get a better feel for which prospects are on the rise and which are falling.

This week saw several noteworthy performances by 2026 NFL Draft hopefuls, including a five-touchdown rushing game, a “sack trick”, and more. Here are some players that caught my eye in Week 2.

Cashius Howell's sack trick

Texas A&M are rolling out a new-look defensive line in 2025 after losing three of their starters to the NFL last season. These are big shoes to fill, especially off the edge, but Cashius Howell showed this weekend that he has what it takes to step up to the plate.

The fifth-year senior began his career at Bowling Green, spending three seasons with the Falcons before transferring to Texas A&M last season. 

Howell was quietly the most productive Aggies pass rusher on a per snap basis last season, finishing the year with 34 pressures and a team-leading 19.9% pass rush win rate. That looks to have carried over into an expanded role this season.

This weekend against Utah State Howell not only managed to grab headlines with three sacks, but made history by recording them on consecutive plays. In doing so, he became the first player since 2015 to log a so-called “sack trick”.

One of the things I liked about Howell’s game in summer scouting was his blend of hand placement and variety of moves. Those were both on full display in this game, with each of his sacks coming off the back of a different technique.

His first saw him start off with a bull rush, before deploying a dip-and-rip to win around the outside shoulder. On the next play he threatened outside before crossing face and securing his second sack. His third saw him show off his speed and win around the arc to end the drive.

This was a commanding performance from Howell. With a high-profile matchup against Notre Dame on the cards in Week 3, you can be sure that scouts will be keeping a close eye on him.

More than meets the box score with Kenyon Sadiq

Week 2 saw Oregon demolish Oklahoma State, beating the Cowboys 69-3 to deliver their biggest defeat since 1907. A host of players impressed, but the one who really caught my eye was Ducks tight end, Keyon Sadiq.

With Terrance Ferguson gone, Sadiq figured to be one of the big breakout candidates of 2025. Through two weeks, that looks to be the case.

That may not show up in the box score – Sadiq has three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown through two games – but if you turn on the tape you can see a player dripping with NFL potential.

The athleticism has never been a question with Sadiq. He was named to Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List this offseason thanks to his track and weight room prowess, including a 41.5” vertical and a 435 lbs bench press. If correct, that vertical jump would be tied for the best of any tight end prospect in the last decade.

What really stood out to me on the Oklahoma State tape though was Sadiq’s reps as a blocker. He still has room to grow as a technician, but his effort is outstanding and he has shown real growth in terms of his play strength since last season. He was instrumental in springing several big runs for Oregon’s running backs, including Noah Whittington’s 59-yard first quarter touchdown and Jayden Limar’s explosive 53-yard run.

Sadiq looked particularly effective on the move, whether this was climbing to the second level, serving as a puller on counter, or working out in space as a perimeter blocker. His tenacity also saw several of his blocks end up with his opponent on the ground.

NFL scouts will no doubt be keen to see Sadiq earn more of a role as a receiver, especially in light of his special athletic traits, but the first couple of games have certainly been promising.

Jonah Coleman steals the show

Oregon weren’t the only former Pac-12 team to have a strong weekend. Washington’s test against UC Davis was admittedly not the toughest, but they ran out 70-10 winners, with running back Jonah Coleman stealing the show.

The former Arizona man came into the season as my RB5 in the 2026 class, and if he keeps playing like he did this weekend he will only rise.

He finished the game with 111 yards and a career-best five touchdowns on his 15 carries. He averaged 7.4 yards per attempt, with over 70% of that coming after contact.

It was this ability to create his own yardage that really stood out this weekend. UC Davis’ defenders looked utterly helpless in trying to bring Coleman down. His stocky frame gives him excellent natural leverage and contact balance, and his ability to pinball off would-be tacklers saw him make several eye-popping plays.

This builds on an impressive Week 1 showing that saw Coleman rush for 177 yards and two touchdowns against Colorado State.

The question with Coleman when it comes to his NFL Draft projection has always been his speed and breakaway ability. Whilst this may never be a big part of his game, he has shown consistently impressive vision at the line of scrimmage and a physical running style through the first two games of the season that will no doubt appeal to NFL coaching staffs.

In a league where everyone is increasingly looking to build a powerful, hard-hitting run game, Coleman’s reliability and willingness to churn out tough yardage definitely has real value.

Pumping the brakes on the Mateer hype

The moment the game ended and Oklahoma’s win over Michigan was secured, the takes about Sooners quarterback John Mateer started flying.

He had led his team to a statement win over the Wolverines, throwing for 269 yards and leading the team with 75 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

My feed was awash with people rushing to declare him a future first round pick. There were certainly plenty of impressive throws on his tape. Mateer’s arm talent is one of his biggest selling points, and he had a couple of beautiful sideline throws where he delivered a perfect throw downfield with defenders bearing down on him. He also showed his talent as a play extender, with a particularly impressive third down throw in the third quarter that saw him avoid a sack, roll out, and deliver a dime downfield.

While plays like that make the hype understandable, I still think this is one of those cases where we should be pumping the brakes. For all of Mateer’s flashes of excellence, his overall consistency remains a concern. He still struggles with accuracy and touch on routine throws and isn’t reliably working through his reads.

That’s what gives me some cause for concern. Highlight reel throws are amazing, but the ability to hit the easy throws and make the right reads on time and in structure is often what separates a great college quarterback from an NFL starter.

This isn’t to say Mateer can’t get there, or that won’t be a first round quarterback. It is after all only Week 2, and this game came against a talented Wink Martindale defense. Mateer’s issues are all theoretically fixable – the question is whether he can. With a Week 4 outing against a good Auburn team on the horizon, that’s one I’ll be circling as a must-watch.

Sam Leavitt struggles in Starksville

The matchup between Mississippi State and Arizona State delivered a major surprise, with the Bulldogs snatching a 52-yard game-winning touchdown with just 30 seconds left to play. But from a draft perspective, the real surprise was the performance of Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt.

Before the season, Leavitt had been receiving first round hype and featured in a number of prominent mock drafts. You’d never have guessed that if you watched this game.

Leavitt finished with perhaps the worst statline you will see from a draft prospect this season. He completed just 10 of 23 passes for 82 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. When factoring in yardage lost on sacks, Leavitt averaged 1.97 yards per dropback.

His play under pressure has been a concern at times in his career and was once again a problem here. His passer rating on his 13 pressured dropbacks was an almost unbelievable 2.8, and his average time to throw ballooned to 5.02 seconds.

He could not hit his targets downfield either, finishing with an adjusted completion rate of 33.3% on 12 attempts of 10+ air yards. His passer rating on those throws was a paltry 6.9.

These issues were compounded by a number of head-scratching decisions, from turning down open receivers to a pair of ugly interceptions.

Leavitt and his team will be keen to put this performance behind them, but it is a difficult one to ignore when talking about him as a draft prospect. When I scouted Leavitt over the summer I felt that he was likely one of a number of players who would be best served by two more seasons in school, before declaring in 2027. This game does nothing but solidify that view.

JACK BRENTNALL

HEAD OF NFL DRAFT CONTENT

Previously the founder of The Jet Sweep, Jack joined The Touchdown as head of Draft Content in 2024. A Scouting Academy alumnus, Jack has been Covering the NFL Draft since 2020. Follow him on Twitter @Jack_Brentnall.

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