FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

QB Will Howard Joins Empty Steelers QB Room

By Shane Hallam | Updated on Sat, Apr 26 2025 8:16 PM UTC

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ohio State QB Will Howard with the 185th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Howard spent his first four college seasons at Kansas State, completing just 58.8% of his passes at 7.4 yards per attempt. But he transferred to Ohio State ahead of the 2024 season and led the Buckeyes to a national championship with an impressive campaign. Howard racked up 4,010 passing yards and 35 TDs on a 73.0% completion rate and 9.5 yards per attempt. He benefitted from playing with one of the best supporting casts in college football, but Howard also ranked ninth in the country in Pro Football Focus passing grade. He was especially effective throwing deep, registering the second-best PFF deep passing grade and the best adjusted completion rate on throws 20+ yards downfield. Howard doesn’t have the biggest arm but is an accurate and cerebral passer. He’s also an underrated athlete, earning an 8.80 Relative Athletic Score at 236 pounds. Howard averaged 20.5 rushing yards per game last year and was used on some designed runs by Ohio State.

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Howard led the Buckeyes to the National Championship and offers some rushing upside at a big size.

He may not have the strongest arm or a clean release, but Howard has flashed NFL talent.

As a third QB to develop, the Steelers could have done worse than see if Howard can cut it in OC Arthur Smith's offense.

Dynasty Impact

In Superflex, Howard is worth a late round flier to see if he can stick and rise up the depth chart.

If QB Aaron Rodgers doesn't sign with the Steelers, he then becomes intriguing behind QBs Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.

Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format including redraft, dynasty, devy, C2C, IDP, CFF, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC, and a King's Classic Champion. Shane utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance.