The Pittsburgh Steelers have a fairly large hole on their roster at the quarterback position. As of now, Mason Rudolph would be the starting quarterback for the 2025 season, although the team is still courting veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is taking his time to make his decision, but the odds seem high that he will land in Pittsburgh. Regardless of what happens, quarterback needs to be a position that the organization at least considers attacking in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the franchise sent its brass to watch a promising prospect on Wednesday.
Ohio State held its Pro Day on Wednesday, and there were a ton of promising prospects there putting on a show. The most notable players were the running back duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, while potential first-round wide receiver Emeka Egbuka performed as well.
Delivering sharp passes to Egbuka was Will Howard, who Pittsburgh could have significant interest in during the middle rounds of the draft. Pittsburgh sent Mike Tomlin, Arthur Smith, and Omar Khan to watch the Buckeyes at their Pro Day, and the three members of the organization even met with some of the players the day before. Howard spoke with some of the media after finishing his workout on Wednesday, and he was specifically asked about the Steelers.
"Yeah, it's been really good," Howard said. "I spent some time with them yesterday, Coach Tomlin, Coach Smith, it's really good. I really like those guys. It's close to home for me, it's close to here [Columbus], there's a lot of things to like about it. You never know, anything could happen, but it's definitely a great spot."
Howard is an interesting prospect. Many have compared him to Bo Nix due to his experience at the college level, and he was able to lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship in 2024 in his first and only season with the program. The prospect has Pennsylvania roots as he grew up on the east side of the state, so Pittsburgh could be a natural landing spot for him.
Howard could be selected anywhere from Day 2 of the draft to sometime on Day 3, and teams with aging starting quarterbacks are going to be the ones to look at when it comes to taking a chance on the National Champion. The quarterback has experience, but would certainly benefit from sitting for a year or two. He was sporadic throwing the ball at the NFL Combine, but he put on a show at his Pro Day that should move him up some draft boards.
The quarterback completed all but two of his passes during his Pro Day, and the two that fell incomplete were considered to be drops. These repetitions weren't against a defense, but it shows that Howard can deliver in high-pressure situations as a ton of NFL brass was looking on.
Steelers Should Take A Chance On Will Howard If He Falls
Howard could be selected in the third round, but it is more likely as of now that the quarterback will fall to the third day of the event. Pittsburgh currently holds the 156th pick, and if the quarterback is there when the franchise is selecting, he should be heavily considered to be the selection.
There is still the chance that Pittsburgh could take a chance on a player like Jaxson Dart in the first round, but if that does not happen, a player like Howard or Tyler Shough are the logical next options.
