Alright, picture this—late-night, cold as hell, Indianapolis. You’re walking past some random hotel, minding your business, and boom—you see a guy slinging absolute dimes over a parking lot barrier like he’s gunning for an invisible end zone. No cameras, no crowd, no hype. Just pure grind. Who was that? None other than Will Howard, the Ohio State QB fresh off a natty win. And who made sure the world knew about this late-night Rocky montage moment? The one and only Pat McAfee.

Sounds like a feel-good, blue-collar, football-guy moment, right? Well, it turns out, it got a little messy. McAfee’s glowing praise for Howard—borderline fanboy levels—had people wondering: Is Pat McAfee running PR for Will Howard? Is the ESPN kingpin getting a little kickback to put this kid on an NFL map he wasn’t supposed to be on?

Back in 2024, nobody was putting Will Howard in the “league-ready” convo. In fact, before Ohio State made their championship run, scouts had this dude pegged as a fourth or fifth-rounder—if that. But Howard, a Kansas State transfer, flipped the switch. He led the Buckeyes to a 14-2 record, dropping 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns on a 73% completion rate, all while Chip Kelly—his OC—was cooking up an offense that made him look real good. Then, under the bright lights of the national championship, Howard went full beast mode, snatching the Offensive MVP title and, most importantly, shaking off that ‘mid-round afterthought’ label.

And Pat? Oh, Pat was all in. Like way in. From his sideline takes to his Twitter fingers, McAfee couldn’t stop giving Howard his flowers. At first. People just thought he was low-key hyped on the Cinderella story. Then, it got weird—too many tweets. Too many praises and flowers. Pat McAfee literally put Will Howard on the screen during one of his segments next to guys like Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson as a top QB available in the 2025 NFL season. And that’s when the whispers turned into accusations—was McAfee on Will Howard’s payroll?

McAfee heard the noise and wasn’t about to let people drag his name like that. Live from the NFL Combine, he set the record straight on his show, in full-blown rant mode: “Will Howard is ready to come out here and make a big impression, I believe,” McAfee said. “I have not talked to Will. I’ve not talked to Will’s people. I don’t know them that well. A lot of people are asking like, ‘Hey, Pat, does Will Howard got you guys on the payroll?’ No.” The man was standing ten toes down. He wasn’t taking a dime. He just liked Howard’s game.

Pat McAfee didn’t stop there; he tripled down on how Will Howard fits the mold: “We just so happened to be at all of these games where he played his best ba-l. And he’s a big s-n of a b—h. And when you talk about being big, whenever you talk about having moxie, when you talk about being likable, and whenever you talk about being able to put a ba-l on a dot, it’s like, is that not what we’re looking for in a quarterback?” Bold words, but what can you expect from the frat king? McAfee wasn’t going to apologize for giving a dude his props; even if the NFL scouts had been slow to catch up, the $7.8 billion potentially caught their eyes on Will Howard after Pat McAfee’s viral exposure of Will Howard.

The Raiders got their eye and nose on Will Howard—heavy

Now here’s where it gets spicy. Right as McAfee is clearing his name, rumors start flying—there’s a $7.8B franchise that’s all in on Will Howard. And who might that be? The Las Vegas Raiders.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind–The Raiders need a quarterback. Badly. They’ve been eyeing their options, but if they don’t land Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, Howard is creeping up as a very real Plan B. And why does that make all the sense in the world?

Well, their brand-new OC just happens to be Chip Kelly, the same guy who helped turn Howard from a middle-round prospect to a natty-winning gunslinger. So when Howard was asked about reuniting with his old play-caller, his response was telling: “It would be awesome, man,” he said. “Seeing that move from Coach Kelly, I’m so happy for him. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had, man, and one of my favorite people I’ve been around. We’ve stayed in contact. It would be amazing to get the opportunity to play for him again.” Translation? Howard literally wants that Raiders call on April 24th or 25th.

Does this mean Howard to the Raiders is a lock? Not quite. But let’s be real—Howard would be a perfect fit. The Raiders have a system that’s already built around his strengths. He’s got the size, Brock Bowers, and, let’s not forget, he’s got that championship pedigree now. Plus, unlike some of the other QB options, he wouldn’t need to spend a whole year getting adjusted because Chip Kelly already knows exactly how to plug him in. And for a Raiders team that just missed out on landing Matthew Stafford? They’re desperate for somebody to take the reins and run with them.

McAfee’s wild love fest for Will Howard? Maybe it was a little over the top, but it wasn’t fake. The man earned it. The late-night grind, the natty, the draft stock rise—he made it happen. And now, thanks to that viral parking lot clip and the Pat McAfee megaphone effect, he’s got a $7.8B franchise sniffing around, trying to see if he’s their guy.

So what happens next? Well, if Howard gets drafted by the Raiders. McAfee is going to be looking real prophetic. And if Howard flames out? Well, at least we got one hell of a viral moment out of it. Either way, Will Howard just went from “mid-round maybe” to NFL name to watch—and that is how you make a darn entrance into the league.