Xavien Howard

Xavien Howard (born July 4, 1993) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent.

Howard was born on July 4, 1993, and grew up in Houston, Texas.

He attended and played football at Wheatley High School in the city, where he was teammates with fellow NFL cornerback William Jackson III.

He committed to Baylor University to play college football.

Howard played at Baylor from 2012 to 2015.

During his career, he had 98 tackles, 10 interceptions 1.5 sacks, and one touchdown.

He completed all of the combine drills and finished tied for 12th among defensive backs in the short shuttle.

He also attended Baylor's pro day.

Howard opted to redo the majority of workouts and improved on all his combine numbers with scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams looking on.

Prior to the draft, Howard was projected to be a second or third-round pick.

He played college football at Baylor and was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, where he spent eight seasons with the team.

During his tenure in Miami, Howard was a four-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro member, and led the league in interceptions twice.

After his junior year, he declared for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Howard attended the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Miami Dolphins selected Howard in the second round with the 38th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

In order to draft Howard, the Dolphins traded their second-round pick (42nd overall) and fourth-round pick (107th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for their second-round pick (38th overall).

Howard was the sixth cornerback selected in 2016.

On May 18, 2016, the Dolphins signed Howard to a four-year, US$6.12 million contract with $3.83 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.65 million.

During organized team activities and minicamp, Howard competed for job as the No. 2 starting cornerback against Tony Lippett.

On the final day of minicamp, Howard suffered a knee injury and was placed on the physically unable to perform list after it was discovered he would require surgery.

Howard underwent arthroscopy surgery and was unable to physically participate in training camp.

Although he missed the first three preseason games, head coach Adam Gase elected to name Howard the second starting cornerback, alongside veteran Byron Maxwell, to begin the regular season.

He started the Dolphins' season-opener at the Seattle Seahawks and recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles during their 12–10 loss.

On October 6, 2016, Howard suffered another knee injury during practice.

The meniscus injury required surgery and he missed the next nine games (Weeks 5–14).

On December 17, 2016, Howard appeared in his first game since his knee injury and collected three solo tackles and had a season-high three pass deflections during a 34–13 victory at the New York Jets.

He finished his rookie season in 2016 with 40 combined tackles (29 solo) and six pass breakups in eight games and eight starts.

The Dolphins finished their first season under head coach Adam Gase second in the AFC East with a 10–6 record.

On January 8, 2017, Howard started his first career playoff game and recorded five combined tackles, broke up two passes, and made his first career interception off of a pass attempt by Ben Roethlisberger as the Dolphins were defeated by the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round.

Howard entered training camp in 2017, slated as the Dolphins' No. 1 cornerback.

He was named the starting cornerback to start the regular season, along with Byron Maxwell.

Bobby McCain and Alterraun Verner were named the backup cornerbacks.

Howard started the Dolphins' season-opener at the Los Angeles Chargers and recorded a season-high seven combined tackles during their 19–17 victory.

In Week 13, Howard recorded a solo tackle, a season-high five pass breakups, two interceptions, and returned one for a touchdown during the Dolphins' 35–9 win against the Denver Broncos.

During the second quarter, Howard intercepted a pass by Trevor Siemian and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown to mark the first score of his career.

The following week, he deflected three passes and intercepted New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady twice during their 27–20 win on Monday Night Football.

He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Patriots.

On December 17, 2017, Howard collected four solo tackles and made his first career sack on Tyrod Taylor, as the Dolphins were defeated by the Buffalo Bills 24–16.

Howard finished 2017 with 48 combined tackles (42 solo), 13 pass deflections, four interceptions, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts.

During the Jets home opener in Week 2, Xavien Howard got his first interception of the season.