Analyst Explains Why Will Howard Fell to Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are viewing Will Howard as a piece they shouldn't have gotten in the sixth-round of the NFL Draft, but are thankful they did. Even with the quarterback group falling a very strange way, the Steelers had their eyes on Howard the whole time, and when they finally got done waiting, they added a player many view as having higher upside than his draft selection indicates.

The 33rd Team's Steve Palazzolo recently appeared on 93.7 The Fan and had a lot of the same questions tossed his way. Everyone in Pittsburgh wants to know if the Steelers just landed a steal at the quarterback position, and would love to know how Howard even ended up in the sixth round of the draft.

"I don’t know if there’s anything specific fatally as far as the flaw, it’s just inconsistency. The same description can be used on [Jalen] Milroe," Palazzolo said. "There was some games where his accuracy is all over the place… He will overthrow receivers over the middle of the field a couple times a game it seems.

"And his arm is not great. It’s good. I think he’s been touted as having a big arm, but it’s not great. It’s fine. And the athleticism is kind of like a lower-end Daniel Jones."

Howard is 6-foot-4, 235 pounds and threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns his final season at Ohio State, leading the NCAA in both categories. He finished his career with 9,796 yards and 83 touchdowns, and looked to have played his best football in the College Football Playoffs.

Still, not everyone was sold on Howard coming into the NFL Draft, and Palazzolo seems to know that his arm hurt him.

"I think his velocity, I think his arm strength is okay, and I think that’s a big part of it as well as the inconsistency," Palazzolo said. "If you want to dock him, his accuracy was all over the place at Kansas State and maybe it got better this year, but that’s throwing to Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka [with] Chip Kelly calling the plays. If you wanted to dock him, you would say he was more of a passenger than the driver for that Ohio State offense."

Pittsburgh is still waiting for Aaron Rodgers and is confident they'll end up with him as their starting quarterback this season. Howard will get a shot to compete with Mason Rudolph for the backup job, and in the future, who knows what his opportunities are.

Some want him to start this season or next. Others want another quarterback to come earlier in the NFL Draft next year. But only time will tell if Howard is able to put the worries about his game aside and prove to be a winning NFL QB.