The Vikings shook up the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday, trading the 142^nd overall pick to Seattle for 24-year-old quarterback Sam Howell and the No. 172 selection.

Howell has spent three seasons in the NFL and joins a Minnesota quarterbacks room that includes 2024 10^th overall pick J.J. McCarthy (22 years old) and former undrafted free agent Brett Rypien (28).

A native of Indian Trail, North Carolina, Howell is listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds.

Here's five things to know about the new Vikings passer:

1. Trial by fire

Howell was drafted to Washington with the 144^th pick in the fifth round in 2022 and won his only start as a rookie. The next season, Howell started 17 games and completed 388 of 612 passes for 3,946 yards, with 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He led the NFL that season in attempts, picks and sacks (65).

Howell's finest game as a pro to date occurred in Week 8 of the 2021 campaign against Philadelphia, in which he threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns at a 75-percent clip (39-for-52) in a 38-31 defeat.

In March 2024, Howell was traded by the Commanders to Seattle, along with a fourth-rounder and sixth-rounder in the 2024 Draft, in exchange for 2024 third-round and 2024 fifth-round choices.

Howell played in two games for the Seahawks, going 5-for-14 with a pick against Green Bay in Week 15.

2. Record-setter

Howell holds a number of North Carolina Tar Heels records, including career passing yards (10,283) and touchdowns (92), the single-season mark for passing TDs (38) and single-game tallies for yards (550) and TDs (6). Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, eclipsed Howell in single-season passing yardage.

Howell had 5-plus passing touchdowns three times as a Tar Heel, happening once in each of his three seasons, during conference games against Virginia Tech (2019), Wake Forest (2020) and Virginia (2021).

3. Sun Valley star

Howell attended and starred at Sun Valley High School in Monroe, North Carolina, totaling 13,415 passing yards and 145 touchdowns through the air, in addition to 3,621 yards and 60 TDs on the ground.

His play resulted in him being ranked the No. 2 overall recruit in his home state. Originally committed to Florida State University, Howell flipped to North Carolina after the hiring of Mack Brown as Tar Heels coach.

Howell is the only Sun Valley alum to appear in the NFL.

4. First-round chatter

After pacing the ACC in touchdown passes with 38 and 30 his first two seasons at North Carolina, Howell was touted as a potential high draft pick, even acquiring some early consideration as a first-rounder.

In his pre-draft assessment, NFL Media's Lance Zierlein projected Howell as a second-round choice and noted he "plays with admirable confidence despite inconsistencies in important areas as a passer."

"He muscles throws, hindering his accuracy on drive throws but has adequate arm strength and can expedite off-platform throws," Zierlein said. "The 2021 tape was bumpy but his makeup is really good and improvement is likely with better pieces around him.

"Howell isn't wired for or suited to a ball-control passing attack and might need a vertical passing scheme capable of creating explosive plays in order to succeed," Zierlein added.

5. Vikings connection

In Howell's final college season, he shared the backfield with Vikings 2022 fifth-round pick Ty Chandler.

Chandler romped for 1,092 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 contests, and Howell posted a 24:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio over 12 games as the Tar Heels went 6-7.

Amazingly, Howell wound up with more rushing attempts (183 to Chandler's 182) and scooted for 828 yards despite his previous season-best of 146 yards.

Also, on Howell's Instagram account, he posted a photo in 2019 posing after a game with former North Carolina State linebacker Drake Thomas, who is the younger brother of Vikings wide receiver Thayer Thomas.

Howell captioned the photo, "Through it all. My brother!"

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