Welcome to the Steelers, Will Howard

There is no doubt that Will Howard threw to All World talent at Ohio State but on the other hand he is used to throwing to receivers of that caliber. When DK Metcalf runs a go route, Howard isn't going to think oh damn I never saw speed like that before because he has and lead that uber talented team to the National title.

 

True, but it's also about the comparative talent. Ohio State's was head and shoulders above the majority of teams in the FBS.

The NFL will narrow many of those gaps. Personally, I'm not even thinking WR; I'm thinking o-line protection.

 

You are correct, but let's not forget when facing the best in college football, as in the playoffs, He shined

 

I'm remembering the 1998 draft, where many thought the guy with the stronger arm (drafted 2nd) would become a better QB than the cerebral, mature guy (drafted 1st).

Howard has the size. Hopefully he can afford a specialist that can train him to add a little zip to his throwing motion.

 

I read "****" instead of "salt" at first.

 

Simms doesn't always take the popular view on QBs. Simms said this about Hurts last season:

"He plays quarterback for a team that's an all-star team," Simms said. "They have the best O-line in football. It's not even close. They got maybe the best duo of receivers in all of football. I just think if you put some other quarterbacks in Philly, you put Kyler Murray there, you'd go, 'Damn, Kyler's amazing. Is he the MVP of football?'"

But he also ranked QBs going into the 2023 season, and put KP just about where he ended the season:



His predictions have been spotty at best. He had Mac Jones rated over Tua.

 

If he said Will Howard was hindered by the awesome talent at OSU it would be weird and news. Every player on that team benefitted from the talent around them. They all benefitted from each other.

DCs in college play pro style defenses. The whole reason nearly every college snap is with the QB in shotgun/pistol is so the QB does not turn his back to the defense. The OCs want their QB watching the defense for shifts and other pre-snap disguises once the ball gets snapped. Having OL and receivers that understand those concepts as well can only be beneficial for the QB. I don't understand the downside or adversity to having this to learn from.

 

When the New England Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round (199th pick) of the 2000 NFL Draft, many considered him a longshot, with some NFL scouts and analysts expressing doubts about his athleticism and potential. Some even suggested that he was a "sluggish" and "skinny" player who had a poor combine performance.

Go 18!

 

I'm excited to watch preseason because of Him, and that's a fact.

 

Regarding Tom Brady, people tended to forget that, before Tom Brady was Tom Brady, he had a lot to work on. Hell, New England's first three Super Bowl wins were from the Defense and Adam Vin. Brady definitely helped but that Defense's performance's during those 2000s years were severely underrated.


Tom Brady really didn't become Tom Brady until 2007 at the earliest. Now, will Will Howard do the same?! Not impossible but unlikely unlikely at the moment. That said, anything can happen between now and the start of the Season.

 

Jalen Hurts had all time talent all around him at Alabama. Certainly didn’t hinder him on the next level. However, Howie Roseman assembled ridiculous talent in Philly for him. Something the Steelers have been horrible at the last decade.

QBs picked in the 6th round usually don’t become franchise QBs.

Mike Tomlin hasn’t been able to develop a single consistent offense or defense for an entire season that didn’t include all time greats.

Ohio State quarterbacks are almost nil in quality on the next level.

All things point to Will Howard never being the guy.

All things considered, maybe he’s the anomaly. But not likely.

 

He also had Belichek, Kraft, and the rest of the organization giving him "help" that other team's QBs never got. (And had Goodell destroy some of the evidence in 2007.)
That doesn't account for everything Brady could do, but we'll never know how good he would have been if he started with a more honest organization.

 

For the QBs vs. WRs argument, I think we can easily cherry-pick evidence for both sides:

• The 2015 playoff game against Denver, Ben had a bad shoulder on his throwing arm (thanks to Burfict's knee strike while the ball was far away), #1 WR was out (Burfict took out AB), and they were down to their 3rd string RB. Despite that, Denver having a dominant #1 passing defense and playing at home, Ben had a strong game and they had the lead going into the 4th quarter. (If Toussaint doesn't fumble, maybe they win.) Wheaton and Bryant were not chopped liver, but I'd say that was the QB doing the heavy lifting.
• Flacco gets hot for the 2012 playoffs. He gets a big contract extension, and his WRs were allowed to leave. Flacco reverts to "average Joe" instead of coming close to his playoff run. I'd say the WRs were carrying Flacco, especially when a lot of the big pass plays were moon balls where Boldin and the others out-fought for possession (or were gifted interference calls).

 

Me and you both hope Will Howard does have it. Moreover to the point, I hope Will Howard crushes it in OTAs, Training Camp and the Preseason. That way, the team as a whole will have a much harder decision to make upon who is the primary backup to Aaron Rodgers (assuming he comes). Even if Aaron Rodgers doesn't sign, I don't think Mason Rudolph is going to get a long leash should Will Howard prove to be more than what others thought.

 

Will Howard = Mason Rudolph

 

he also played at least 5 games against top drafted talent in the NFL draft in oregons front twice. notre dames secondary and front. michigans front and secondary. texas put a lot of top players into the NFL this past draft.

 

Fair enough. But the list of QBs that were not great at the college level and succeeded in the NFL is far shorter than the other way around (i.e, Allen is the exception, not the rule). Howard's best ball was as much about the team around him as it was about him as a QB. Rudolph had a similar college trajectory with his senior year by far his best.

Two things could make a difference for Howard; he does have a certain level of moxie to him, and he seems to have better pocket presence (at the college level anyway) than Rudolph. Is this really enough though?

 

Plus he defeated Penn State that had 4 defensive players drafted into the NFL last month. Including Abdul Carter the best defensive player in the nation. There is no comparison between the defenses Howard faced in college and the teams Mason Rudolph played in the wide open Big 12 where playing good defense was holding your opponent to under 50 points.

 

I liked Mason coming out of college, not as a 1st round pick, but as something down the road, but there is no doubt that Howard has faced way better competition in college, and in big games at that.