As the NFL Draft looms just a month away, former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard will see if the Pittsburgh Steelers move him as the franchise cornerstone or go with someone else.
The Draft Network's Paige Dimakos declared Howard could be the next Ben Roethlisberger.
"The Pittsburgh Steelers should not be drafting a quarterback, because they already have one on the roster," Dimakos said on Monday. "I will not let this go. Will Howard is a dude. He is a dude. This is your Ben Roethlisberger 2.0; he is the perfect AFC North Steelers quarterback. A big, physical, White quarterback who came from Ohio State. Like, who am I describing? Ben Roethlisberger or Will Howard?"
This may be the biggest laud Howard has received thus far. He's not only being compared to a Steelers legend but also an NFL great. Roethlisberger is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, winning two Super Bowls and a plethora of accolades along the way. Dimakos also believes the lack of quarterbacks in the 2026 Draft class works in Howard's favor.
"Other than Fernando Mendoza, who they will not be in a position to draft, there’s not a single quarterback in this Draft that I would like more than Howard," Dimakos said. "Pittsburgh Steelers fans, I think it’s time for y’all to wake up and start begging for Will Howard to be able to play. I'm not quite sure why a guy who won a national championship and has the résumé he has isn’t getting even talked about in the Pittsburgh market."
Roethlisberger has been a huge supporter of the former Kansas State signal-caller, continuously lauding him as someone Pittsburgh should invest in.
"I know there are some people out there on the radio and stuff that are just totally against him, and I don’t get it," Roethlisberger said on a Mar. 3 episode of his Footbahlin podcast. "How can you be against somebody you have never seen play at this level? Like you just can’t."
Howard is in an interesting place with the Steelers. His college journey wasn't typical of many draftees, as he only truly rose to national acclaim after a title run in his fifth season. It dropped him down to the sixth round, which would cast him as an afterthought in most scenarios. However, with Pittsburgh's quarterback struggles and the state of this year's Draft, Howard has a potential chance to shine as the Steelers' next man under center.
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