Nobody expected the quarterback class to go off the board the way it did during the 2025 NFL Draft. Cam Ward going first overall wasn’t surprising, but just about everything else was. The seemingly-consensus second QB in the class, Shedeur Sanders, went on Day 3. Dillon Gabriel went two rounds earlier, and to the same team, the Cleveland Browns. Finally, the Steelers were able to get Will Howard in the sixth round. That surprised some who expected him to come off the board earlier.
On Monday, Ralph Vacchiano with Fox News put together a list, ranking the best situations for each quarterback who was drafted this year. Despite being a sixth-round pick, he ranked Howard’s situation with the Steelers as fourth-best.
“Howard may have been the eighth quarterback off the board, but he still could have a better chance to play quickly than most of the QBs drafted before him,” Vacchiano wrote. “Right now, the Steelers have Mason Rudolph as their presumed starter, and he has a two-year deal with only $3 million guaranteed. They are famously waiting on 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to decide whether he wants to play (and if he wants to play in Pittsburgh), but who knows how that saga will end?”
Howard slotted ahead of third-round selections in Seattle’s Jalen Milroe and Cleveland’s Dillon Gabriel as well as fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders, also selected by the Browns. Howard only placed behind the first three quarterbacks drafted: Tennessee’s Cam Ward, New York Giants’ Jaxson Dart, and New Orleans’ Tyler Shough.
The current quarterback room in Pittsburgh consists of Howard, Mason Rudolph, and Skylar Thompson. The Steelers could find qualities they like in each of those three. Yet none present the team with a lot of reliability going into 2025.
For the Steelers, that’s not ideal, and it’s why they’re still content to wait on Aaron Rodgers. For Howard, though, it could be a blessing. He’d likely sit behind Rudolph to begin the season. Still, compared to most QBs in this class, he seems much closer to significant playing time, even in his rookie year.
For obvious reasons, though, his chances of playing time decrease if Rodgers signs, as Vacchiano writes.
“The big caveat is that if Rodgers signs, Howard’s future will be put off indefinitely — unless, of course, Rodgers gets hurt.”
On one hand, it would probably be good for Howard’s career if he sat and learned behind Rodgers. When thinking of the best quarterbacks over the past couple of decades, it’s hard to find one who’s been as consistently productive as Rodgers. He also understands the mentorship role, mentoring Jordan Love in Green Bay.
On the other hand, Rodgers starting means less playing time for Howard. It feels likely that Rodgers would only be in Pittsburgh for one season. If not, Howard could have to spend a good amount of time on the bench.
It’s probably a safe prediction that Howard will take snaps for the Steelers at some point. When that will happen remains up in the air. For now, he’s in a solid situation, though, and he would agree.
