It took them long enough, but the Pittsburgh Steelers finally turned their card in for a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. With the 185th overall pick, the Steelers selected Ohio State QB Will Howard. However led the Buckeyes to a college football championship in 2024 before declaring for the draft.
With as much interest as Pittsburgh's brass expressed in the quarterback position throughout the pre-draft process, it was shocking to see them wait until Round 6 to take a signal-caller. Many fans were banging the table from Round 1 until Day 3 of the draft for Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, until he was finally drafted by the Cleveland Browns.
Howard doesn't have elite arm talent, but he's got intriguing size with some rushing ability. At 6'4 1/4'' and 236 pounds, Howard has excellent size to be a pocket passer at the next level with enough mobility to escape the pocket and power to finish runs. Howard comes from a winning program and projects as a long-term backup.
While Howard isn't a high-upside quarterback, Steelers fans can get behind this pick because of where it came in the NFL Draft. Now they will get much-needed depth at the position.
But their willingness to wait so long in the NFL Draft speaks volumes to how the Steelers feel about their chances of signing quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be confident Aaron Rodgers will be their QB for the 2025 season
Fans of Will Howard are going to love this selection. But we shouldn't be looking at Howard as a player who is going to compete with Mason Rudolph for the starting job in Pittsburgh. Rather, the fact that the Steelers waited so long to take a QB in the 2025 NFL Draft means they must have some sense of assurance that Aaron Rodgers will be the guy at the helm this year.
If the Steelers didn't believe Rodgers was on the table, they wouldn't have waited so long to address the QB position with only Rudolph and Skylar Thompson on the roster. Rodgers seemed wishy washy on his future in the NFL when he joined The Pat McAfee Show just days before the draft, but perhaps he changed his tune.
If Rodgers indeed signs with the Steelers, Howard projects to begin the season as the third-string quarterback in Pittsburgh. By year two, Howard could compete for the backup job. This is a solid selection at this stage of the draft for a team desperate for QB depth.