When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they were bringing in a player they felt could become a long-term starter. However, they were not picking a player to play this season.
In addition to drafting Howard, the Steelers also signed future Hall of Fame signal caller Aaron Rodgers in free agency. Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson were also both brought in this offseason.
Howard was never going to see the field this season. In fact, that wasn't a role that Pittsburgh wanted him to have.
Bringing in a young quarterback behind Rodgers is a wise decision. Howard will have a chance to learn behind one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.
That is an opportunity that the rookie quarterback opened up about on Friday in an appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show."
"I think all along I was looking at this season as a developmental year, and I think we all kind of were with the Steelers," Howard said. "Obviously you don't bring in Aaron Rodgers for no reason. He's a guy that's coming in to be the guy, at least for this year, and we don't know what it'll look like going forward. Right now, I'm going into this season saying, 'I want to learn everything I possibly can from Aaron. Just watch the way he goes about his business.'"
Rodgers will give the Steelers a chance to make a run at a championship. He's still more than capable of being a top-tier quarterback, which he showed last season with his individual numbers playing for the New York Jets.
As for Howard, the rookie is coming into the NFL after leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to a national championship win last year. Howard is a proven winner. He has a skill-set that could make him a future starter.
Speaking of his 2024 college football season at Ohio State, Howard threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 73.1 percent of his passes. He also ran for 226 yards and seven scores.
It will be interesting to see what Howard is able to become in Pittsburgh. Should he be able to learn from Rodgers and implement what he learns into his game, the future could be bright for the young quarterback.
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