• Will Howard is fresh off a national championship win: The Ohio State product reached the peak of college football in 2024-25 but will need to up his processing ability in the NFL.

• A potential fourth- or fifth-round pick: Howard might not ever become an elite starting quarterback in the NFL, but he can carve out a nice role as a reliable backup who can step in and operate an NFL offense.

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2024 PFF Grades and Stats (Rank out of 56 Draft-Eligible QBs)

Background

Will Howard is a 23-year-old, 6-foot-4 and 236-pound quarterback out of Ohio State. He started his career at Kansas State, where he spent four seasons and eventually took over as the full-time starter in 2023. He transferred to Ohio State for his final season and started every game, leading the Buckeyes to a national championship win and earning offensive MVP honors for the game.

Strengths

Getting the ball to playmakers

While at Ohio State, Howard did a great job of getting the ball out of his hands and to his multitude of playmakers. The Buckeyes’ offense was a well-oiled machine, and Howard was at the head of it. He had a good idea of where to go with the ball pre-snap and how to attack defenders’ leverage, and he showed he could get the ball there with his accuracy. He’s not the most accurate quarterback, but his accuracy is more than serviceable. He did excel when it came to ball placement. He knew how to protect his receivers from oncoming defenders and how to throw guys open in tight coverage. His situation at Ohio State was favorable, but he took advantage of that by knowing how to get his playmakers the ball.

Pocket presence

Howard had his fair share of clean pockets while at Ohio State, but even when those pockets weren’t clean, he still showed he could manage them efficiently. That mostly shows up when it comes to avoiding sacks. Howard did a great job of getting rid of the ball or getting out of the pocket to avoid sacks. He has the athleticism to make plays on the run but was not afraid to stand in the pocket and deliver under pressure. He didn’t have many huge splash plays under pressure, but his 73.2% adjusted completion rate when under pressure was the second best in the 2025 draft class.

Weaknesses

Arm talent

Howard has never had the strongest arm or the ability to throw from multiple angles. It’s not a huge detriment to his future prospects, but it limits his ability to make plays when things aren’t perfect. It requires him to play with perfect timing because his arm can’t bail him out if he’s late. His lack of arm strength shows up the most on the intermediate throws that require velocity to fit the ball into tight windows. It didn’t allow him to drive the ball up the seams or on throws from the far hash. There was a noticeable dip in how quickly those throws would get to the receiver, and defenders used that to bait the pass and get deflections or interceptions.

Pre-determining throws

I touched on how Howard is decisive and gets the ball out of his hands quickly, but that sometimes proved to be a problem. He seemed to predetermine where he was going to throw the ball and too often threw it despite not getting that same favorable pre-snap look. It led to a higher turnover-worthy play rate than some of his peers. One way to examine that is through turnover-worthy play rate with a time to throw of under 2.5 seconds. Howard’s was 3.3% — the ninth highest in the 2025 draft class. There were times when Howard didn’t force those throws, but it still caused him to get stuck in his progressions, which forced him to be late on passes or scramble out of the pocket.

Summary

Will Howard has plenty of experience, and that will only help him at the next level. He’s shown that he can operate in a favorable offense that allows him to get the ball out of his hands quickly and to his playmakers. He also showed some moments of still being able to get the ball out of his hands in tight pockets and did a great job of avoiding sacks.

However, since his arm talent won’t ever be toward the top echelon of quarterbacks, he’ll need to really up his processing ability. Every predetermined throw won’t be open in the NFL, and he’ll need to show that he can work to the backside of his progression smoothly and not force throws into dangerous areas. Howard might not ever become an elite starting quarterback in the NFL, but he can carve out a nice role as a reliable backup who can step in and operate an NFL offense.

Draft Grade: Late fourth or fifth round