Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sixth-round quarterback Will Howard was ranked sixth by Pro Football Focus among their fit with their new team.
With the 185th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ohio State University quarterback Will Howard. Fresh off a national championship run, Howard’s status in the position room is not for certain. Because of this, Pro Football Focus ranked his fit sixth among the 12 rookie signal callers.
That position on the totem pole will rely heavily on the looming decision of Aaron Rodgers. PFF confirmed this outlook in their evaluation of Howard:
“Will Howard enters one of the more intriguing situations due to the uncertainty around Aaron Rodgers. If Rodgers signs with Pittsburgh, Howard becomes a developmental third-stringer behind the future Hall of Famer and Mason Rudolph. If Rodgers chooses not to play, Howard likely slots in as the backup to Rudolph and could be one play away from game action. The positive? He’s no stranger to high-pressure spots after leading Ohio State to a national title and earning a career-high 85.7 passing grade last season.”
After spending his first four years at Kansas State, the fifth-year senior decided to seek an opportunity in the transfer portal. His goals? He told Ben Roethlisberger on his podcast that he wanted to compete for a championship and develop as a quarterback.
Despite the fact that Howard achieved what he set out to do, he ended up being a sixth-round pick. A fair amount can be attributed to his underwhelming NFL Scouting Combine performance or the perception of being carried by elite talent at Ohio State.
Regardless, Howard could have the most opportunity of a Steelers rookie quarterback since Devlin Hodges was thrown into the fire. What happens at that point is anyone’s guess. In the best-case scenario, the Steelers have the steal of the draft. In a worst-case scenario, he is a career backup as expected of a sixth-rounder.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: PFF: Will Howard a Perfect Fit with Pittsburgh Steelers
