Howlett, who had 15 disposals and seven tackles in the Bombers' 39-point NAB Cup semi-final win over St Kilda on Friday night, said the club's new-look coaching staff, led by James Hird, came with a clear focus.
"Something that we've worked really hard on over the summer is the defensive side of our game," he said after the match.
"The coaching staff have really pushed that into us over the pre-season, so we're happy with the improvement in that side of things."
After being elevated from Essendon's rookie list at the beginning of last season and playing 15 games en route to winning the club's best first-year player award, Howlett has concentrated hard on his fitness over summer.
He aims to take further steps towards becoming one of the Bombers' key on-ballers.
"I want to push up and play that midfield role and work harder in games," he said.
"I want to make myself an elite player and get up to the likes of Mark McVeigh and Brent Stanton. I look up to those guys and if I can get to their stage I'll be very happy."
The 22 year-old said the addition of former Adelaide champion Simon Goodwin to the Bombers' coaching team has accelerated his learning.
"I'm very close with Simon Goodwin," he said.
"He knows so much about the game and he's just leading us really well. He's brought us a long way."
Howlett said that while the team's focus remained on round one, "winning form is good form", and he looked forward to next week's decider.
"To us, we're just looking to improve, and if we can get the wins on the board as well it's great.
"Next week is going to be fantastic. Playing in any grand final is great, and the experience we get out of it is going to be awesome."
Ben Howlett is a $327,800 midfielder in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition
