Picture swinging for the fences on two strikes and two outs at the bottom of the 9th and hitting a home run. In a nutshell, that’s what Will Howard’s just done. With just one year of college eligibility left, Howard risked trading his relatively humble Kansas State surroundings for bluebloods Ohio State. He was comfortable in his offense, plugging away nicely. He even won a Big 12 championship. But Howard gambled on himself to bolster his NFL stock. The rest, as they say, is history. After facilitating a Natty for the Buckeyes and snapping a decade-long drought, he’s a hero in Columbus. However, this eminence hasn’t quite reflected upon his draft grade. Howard continues to be undermined. While the rationale behind his lowly stock is fair in some ways, there are some potential misconceptions muddying it as well. 

At 6”5 and 240 lbs, Will Howard has the frame. He can cause damage from inside the pocket, something he showed throughout OSU’s playoff run. He’s also a legitimate rushing threat out of the backfield. He can move the sticks with his legs as a full-fledged dual-threat quarterback. Howard’s the only national champ in this entire QB class. None of his contemporaries can chat to him about hardware. Another plus in his repertoire is his versed in an NFL-style offense. His OC last year, Chip Kelly, is now with the Raiders. In theory, Howard’s game should translate to the next rung of the football ladder. He’s got the intangibles on lock as well. Gotta be wired a certain way to bounce back from that mistake against Oregon in the regular season, or the horror loss to Michigan. But these positives are counteracted by a couple of sticking points. 

Will Howard was throwing to the best receiving corps in the country en route to the championship. The sheen reflecting off Jeremiah Smith and co. makes it difficult to judge Howard in a vacuum. Plus, the sample size of him being an absolute phenom is rather small. Up until the playoffs, he was good but not as special. Now, you can attribute that to the growing pains of learning a new system and building chemistry, but the NFL sphere hasn’t quite afforded Howard that leverage. At the crux of his attractiveness as a prospect, or lack thereof, is this. Will Howard has been unable to prove he’s a force multiplier. A driver, rather than a mere passenger, tagging along. A truck and not a trailer, if you may. There’s a school of thought that he basically just rode the coattails of more talented players around him. 

With all this baked into the equation, NFL.com draftnik and analyst Chad Reuter has passed his verdict on Will Howard. Reuter released an extensive, 7-round mock. With less than a week left till the actual draft, best believe he’s attaching his name on a mock only after doing his due diligence. Not only in terms of grading these players. But taking into consideration murmurs and reports spawning from front offices across the league. Reuter has Will Howard going in round 4. The franchise is a very intriguing one. So intriguing that Howard actually won’t mind going as late as round 4 if it’s to this team and environment.

Chad Reuter has Will Howard slated to the Pittsburgh Steelers with pick 123. There’s been noise around the Steelers picking a QB in round one instead. However, Reuter has their rumored targets, Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart, going 6th to the Raiders and 9th to the Saints, respectively. Well, before the Steelers are on the clock at #21. If this scenario plays out, then they will draft Will Howard as an alternative, which becomes a viable option. The team’s been linked all off-season to Aaron Rodgers. If that indeed transpires, Rodgers can serve as a 1-year stopgap while Howard learns the ropes from a future HOFer. One of the best to ever do it. Then, pick up the reins from 2026 onward. Conceded, the Steelers don’t have a great recent history of developing QBs they’ve drafted. Kenny Pickett stands as an example. However, they’re still a blue-chip franchise conducive to growth.

We’ve seen Jordan Love become a franchise quarterback after being a backup to Aaron Rodgers. So while you can have questions about how his off-field personality translates to being a mentor, the proof is in the pudding. Alas, Will Howard sure could do much worse than this scenario playing out. Chad Reuter’s mock is a bit outlandish relative to other draftniks. Take this 3-quarterback carousel as a microcosm. The prevailing belief is that the Raiders won’t draft a QB that high after trading for Geno Smith. This means that either Sanders or Dart is an option for the Steelers. Which could bust Reuter’s predictions. However, it’s a data point nonetheless. This is someone plugged in with franchises and could be privy to some intel. Speaking of intel around Will Howard, this segues into an episode involving him, Pat McAfee, and the legendary Warren Sapp.

Pat McAfee and Warren Sapp exchange blows over Will Howard

It wouldn’t be unlike Pat McAfee to pour a little extra glaze over his anecdotes now, would it? Spice things up a little. The retired NFL vet turned media figurehead relayed a story from the Combine. It revolved around Will Howard practicing in the parking lot of the Omni Hotel down in Indy the night prior. Preparing for his big day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Paraphrasing him here, McAfee said Howard was throwing in freezing-cold conditions at 11 pm. Gold-jacket and Colorado assistant coach Warren Sapp called BS on this story. This implies that it was make-believe and that McAfee was trying to spin a narrative.

Over on Thee Pregame Network, Sapp dismissed McAfee’s claim. Essentially, calling him out as a liar. “Ain’t nobody out at 11 o’clock throwing no football in Indianapolis…It’s freezing cold… Stop the fallacy,” he remarked. However, it turns out McAfee wasn’t spreading a fallacy. It’s the truth, confirmed by Will Howard himself. In an excerpt from NFL Films’ “Hey Rookie” series, Howard went on record and detailed the exact situation. In fact, Giants’ HC Brian Daboll even came across him during this.

Warren Sapp being skeptical of Pat McAfee saying this isn’t unreasonable. The plot of this side quest does come across a little hyperbolic. But Sapp perhaps failed to account for one thing. Indianapolis is McAfee’s backyard, and if something goes down there, he probably has the scoop. This aforementioned clip from the docuseries isn’t the only one doing the rounds. Will Howard’s been on a bit of a PR tour, trying to raise his value ahead of draft night. But he continues to have this glass ceiling looming over his head. Can Howard thwart Chad Reuter and others’ evaluation of him as a Day 3 pick? Not too long until we find out.