Quarterback Will Howard impressed the Pittsburgh Steelers during the pre-draft process and in offseason workouts. After a couple days of training camp, one Steelers insider sounds rather impressed too.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko argued this week Howard is ahead of where former first-round pick Kenny Pickett was early in his rookie campaign.
“[Pickett] looked, I thought, more skittish, and maybe that was just some of the guys in front of him were stocking shelves a couple months later,” Batko said while appearing on 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show on Friday, via Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle. “But I remember him looking like the game was moving pretty fast, and it wasn’t like any of us, I don’t think, were clamoring for him to move up the depth chart quickly.
“With Will Howard, I don’t think it’s gonna be long before Skylar Thompson, all due respect to that young man, is in the rearview and Howard’s working in there as the third quarterback.”
Batko’s assessment came the same day Steelers general manager Omar Khan had more positive words on Howard while appearing on The Rich Eisen Show.
“We spent every opportunity we had to talk to him and get to know him. We just like what we see and think there’s a bright future there,” Khan said, via Steelers Depot’s Joe Clark “He has a great opportunity to learn from one of the best quarterbacks ever while he’s here, and I know he’s doing that. He’s asking a lot of questions, and he’s observing.
“Obviously, some things have to come together, but I think the future’s bright for him.”
Will Howard Has Early Lead on Where Kenny Pickett was in First Training Camp
There’s a couple different ways to take Batko’s early assessment of Howard’s first couple training camp practices.
For one, they should be taken with a grain of sale just simply because Howard isn’t performing at real game speed. The Steelers won’t really know what they have in Howard until he receives an opportunity during the regular season.
But it’s not a bad thing Howard is ahead of where Pickett was. Actually, it might be necessary for Howard’s development. After all, Pickett was a failure with the Steelers.
So, any incoming quarterback in Pittsburgh should actually not want to be compared to Pickett. If they are, then they might need to be significantly better than Pickett was to prove to be a franchise quarterback.
QB Aaron Rodgers Mentoring Rookie Will Howard
Howard is unlikely to see the field in 2025 because even if he outplays Skylar Thompson, Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are still ahead of Howard on the depth chart.
But Howard will benefit from practicing with those veterans, especially Rodgers, who is embracing a mentor role for Howard.
“I just like his approach. He’s a good kid. He cares about it, he works hard. He listens. He’s a good note-taker. He’s been picking my brain,” Rodgers said of Howard on Friday, via SI.com’s Tyler Lauletta. “I told him last night, he was in the room, we were talking about signals, I said ‘What can I do for you?’ Because I want to be a support system for him and pass off anything I can.
“I don’t want to overstep my bounds, but if he wants to learn anything or pick my brain or be in my hip-pocket I’m all for it.”
Howard posted a 73% completion percentage and 4,010 passing yards with 35 touchdowns in his only season with the Ohio State Buckeyes last year. He led the program to the college football national championship.
