Will Howard landed in a great situation with the Steelers

In 2024, Will Howard concluded his collegiate career on a high note, guiding his team, the Ohio Buckeyes, to a national championship victory. Ohio’s win against Notre Dame marked a historic achievement for the school, securing their first national title in over a decade.

Howard then entered the 2025 NFL Draft where he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round, as the 185th overall pick. It remains uncertain what to anticipate from the former collegiate star quarterback. He has been described in various ways, from an immense talent to a more “robotic” quarterback who benefited from exceptional receivers.

Given his draft position, early expectations are not for Howard to single-handedly transform the organization. However, there is still a lot the rookie quarterback can bring to the Steel City.

At 23 years old, Will Howard concluded his collegiate career on a high note in 2024, winning the first-ever expanded College Football Playoff. However, Ohio State wasn’t his first top. Howard, who was not a highly touted prospect out of high school, enjoyed a successful three-year stint at Kansas State before transferring to for his final collegiate season. The Ohio State football program is consistently strong, and Ohio sportsbook bonuses are reportedly favoring them for the upcoming football season.

Part of that strength is why Howard has his detractors. The 6-foot-4, 236-pound quarterback played a key role in the Buckeyes’ national championship run. His stats were impressive and certainly strong enough for the professional level: including the postseason, Howard threw for 4010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and completed 73.0% of his passes.

 

While it’s true that players drafted late often enter the league with low expectations, it’s important to remember that the NFL Draft can be as much a television spectacle as a precise predictor of future talent. It’s inherently difficult to anticipate a player’s NFL performance because college football, even at the highest levels, simply doesn’t replicate the same intensity and competition found in the pros.

First-round picks generally perform well, but they aren’t always the sole standouts of their rookie class. Many great players have emerged from the later rounds of the draft, or even went undrafted entirely. Quarterback can be a different story, but there are successes such as Tom Brady and Brock Purdy, to name a couple.

Howard’s run through the CFP saw him face top talent in high pressure situations. Many of the opponents he faced also entered the draft and will be playing on Sundays this fall. That means Howard has the potential to be an impressive asset, especially as he matures into his new role in the NFL.

Steelers fans shouldn’t expect a game-winning touchdown pass from him on his very first day on an NFL field. Nevertheless, he is poised to be an important addition to a franchise as he studies the game playing behind future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers in 2025.

Aside from Rodgers, the Steelers team Howard is joining this season is in a state of makeover. The Pittsburgh Steelers concluded their 2024 season with a respectable 10-7 winning record, securing a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.

This sounds good on paper, but following a strong start the Steelers experienced a late-season slump, marked by a four-game losing streak that caused them to relinquish their hold on first place in their division. Their postseason run was cut short in the Wild Card round by the Baltimore Ravens, capping off a five-game losing streak to end their 2024 campaign.

With another early exit from the playoffs, the Steelers overhauled their roster this offseason. The team moved on from free agents who signed with other teams, such as Justin Fields who signed with the Jets, Najee Harris who joined the Chargers, and James Daniels, who was on IR last season and landed with the Dolphins. The Steelers also traded WR George Pickens and S Minkah Fitzpatrick.

In their place are a number of new faces. Rodgers signed last month before the start of minicamp, but was already working out in his free time with Pittsburgh’s big trade acquisition, WR D.K. Metcalf. The team recently made headlines after sending Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins in an exchange of players and draft capital. Coming over the wire are veteran CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith.

The Steelers also added ammunition in the draft, but the only other offensive player taken besides Howard was Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson. Johnson will be expected to play out of the gate alongside mainstay Jaylen Warren, who should assume the full-time starting role in the backfield.

The maneuvering of the roster by General Manager Omar Khan has changed the Steelers outlook to more be more optimistic. Prior the Dolphins trade and Rodgers signing, the team appeared to be in a free fall with no hope to compete in 2025. Now critics mention as to whether or not they can compete for a Super Bowl.

For Will Howard, this is a promising outlook, despite him likely sitting on the sidelines for this season. Howard will wear a headset on the sidelines and observe so long as the quarterbacks ahead of him, Rodgers and veteran Mason Rudolph, remain healthy. This is a fortunate position, as the late round pick will get to be an understudy with a team on the upswing.

Head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in eighteen years. Heading into his nineteenth, it’s unlikely Howard would jump to the front of the line to play, but it also means Howard is with a stable team with an equally stable situation.

Come next season, Howard may have his opportunity to compete for a starting role. Rodgers has mentioned that 2025 may be his final season in the NFL, which will leave the Steelers in the hunt for another signal caller. Until then, Howard can continue to work with backups throughout training camp and on the scout team throughout the season to prove he has the goods to make a run at the top job in 2026.