The Pittsburgh Steelers added to their quarterback room during the 2025 NFL Draft. However, it wasn’t with their first-round pick, like some might have expected. Instead, they waited until the sixth-round to draft a quarterback, taking Ohio State’s Will Howard. While most sixth-round picks don’t pan out, there are things to like about Howard’s game. Maybe he’ll develop into a quality starter one day. However, former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel doesn’t love the pick.
“Sixth- or seventh-round guy, Will Howard, yes, he has championship pedigree, I would agree,” Daniel said Tuesday on FS1’s The Facility. “This dude’s a developmental prospect. That’s why I gave it a D.
“I don’t think Will Howard can come in and go right away. The Steelers had a chance at Shedeur Sanders, they had a chance at Jalen Milroe. They had a chance at all these guys. I think this was a draft pick like, ‘Hey, we think Will Howard can, at most, be a backup for years to come.’ That’s why I gave it a D.”
There’s nothing wrong with critiquing the Steelers’ plan under center. They’ve been a mess at quarterback this offseason, and now it feels like they’re stuck waiting for Aaron Rodgers.
However, this wasn’t the draft for the Steelers to fix their quarterback issue. There weren’t many highly touted prospects at that position. The last time the Steelers forced an early pick on a quarterback, they ended up with Kenny Pickett. It feels like they’ve learned their lesson from that.
It sounds like Daniel would’ve preferred the Steelers selecting Sanders or Milroe instead of Howard. However, those players also feel like developmental projects, Milroe especially. Perhaps Sanders could’ve competed with Mason Rudolph, but he was a fifth-round pick. Clearly, the NFL didn’t think highly of Sanders. The Steelers weren’t the only team that passed on him multiple times.
Also, throughout the offseason, the Steelers have made it clear that they want to do their best to compete for a championship this year. It’s doubtful that starting a rookie under center would give them their best shot at that. Not everyone is Ben Roethlisberger.
Howard is an interesting prospect with NFL upside. The Steelers added a young quarterback they can try to develop. That’s likely what they were aiming for in this draft. They seem confident that they’ll eventually land Rodgers, who would immediately become their starter.
The Steelers can try to land their next franchise quarterback in the 2026 draft, which projects to be a better class. Even if Howard is only a solid backup, that’s still fine use of a sixth-round pick.
