Will Howard is a national champion, but that distinction only carried him so far in the NFL Draft process this spring. After leading the Buckeyes to the title in his lone season in Columbus, Howard struggled at the NFL Scouting Combine, and though he was never considered an early-round prospect, he fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 185th overall pick in the sixth round.
Despite the lack of draft capital invested in Howard, the Pennsylvania native is getting an opportunity to compete for the backup role behind Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh. Now that his first NFL training camp is underway with the Steelers, Howard’s career trajectory appears to be back on the rise, especially if you listen to his future Hall of Fame teammate.
Aaron Rodgers on his understudy Will Howard:
— The Silver Bulletin (@tSilverBulletin) July 26, 2025
“I like his approach. He works hard, he listens… He has all the ability and the talent and when his time comes he’s going to have a great chance to be a long-term guy in the league.” pic.twitter.com/T6enTk3GBg
Aaron Rodgers views Will Howard as a “long-term guy in the league”
Rodgers has been criticized in the past for his lack of willingness to mentor young quarterbacks. However, those issues arose in Green Bay after the Packers drafted Rodgers’ eventual replacement, Jordan Love, in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, a position the franchise also put Brett Favre in years earlier when they selected Rodgers.
While his relationship with Love may not have been the friendliest, and the selection ultimately played a role in Rodgers forcing his way to the New York Jets, it also spurred him onto back-to-back NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021 at the ages of 37 and 38. Now, at 41 years old, on his third team, and two years removed from a devastating Achilles injury, Rodgers is in a much better place to be a more willing mentor to Howard, which could be great news for the young former Buckeye.
Howard will begin the year as QB3 for the Steelers, behind Rodgers and Mason Rudolph, who the Steelers signed earlier in the offseason as an insurance policy before officially inking Rodgers to a deal. However, with Rodgers' guidance and youth on his side, Howard could climb his way to QB2 throughout training camp. Then, with Rodgers’ retirement imminent, Howard may have the chance to prove he’s more than just a backup.
It’s not clear yet what Rodgers meant when he called Howard a “long-term guy in the league.” A long-term backup, or an eventual franchise guy. More than likely the former, but that would still be a successful career for a player who was a three-star Kansas State recruit and eventual sixth-round draft pick.