The Pittsburgh Steelers made a few bold decisions on the quarterback front this offseason. The Aaron Rodgers signing has naturally dominated the spotlight, but the Steelers also brought in Will Howard, the reigning national champ at Ohio State, in the sixth round of April's NFL Draft. He will serve as Pittsburgh's third-string QB behind Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. More interesting, however, is pondering what exactly the future holds for Howard.
It's tough-sledding out there for any sixth-round pick, especially at quarterback. There's only one starting QB spot on each team, so 32 in total. Howard was the eighth QB off the board on draft night. That said, there will be an opening next season, when Rodgers is slated to retire. Or so it seems that way right now.
Just don't be shocked if the 2026 NFL Draft puts another hurdle in Howard's path. It's way too early for concrete predictions about a draft that won't take place for another 10 months, but... ESPN has its early hunches, and Matt Miller's initial 2026 mock draft has Pittsburgh addressing the quarterback situation.
Steelers select South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers in early 2026 NFL mock draft
Pittsburgh drafts LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina with the 16th overall pick in ESPN's mock draft. That would make Sellers the third quarterback off the board in this hypothetical, with Clemson's Cade Klubnik (No. 1) and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier (No. 11) preceding him.
Sellers put together a productive sophomore campaign for the Gamecocks, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 2,534 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 starts. He also added 647 yards and seven touchdowns as a runner, offering the sort of dual-threat ability Pittsburgh will miss going from Justin Fields to Aaron Rodgers.
It's unclear whether or not South Carolina can earnestly compete in a stacked SEC, but Sellers is due for a proper breakout in his junior season, with Heisman contention not completely out of the question. He fits a very modern archetype for quarterbacks and would give Arthur Smith the sort of optionality he prizes at the QB position.
Is Will Howard anything more than a Steelers backup long term?
If the Steelers burn their first-round pick on a quarterback, whether it's Sellers or a more traditional pocket presence like Nussmeier, that probably answers the question of who starts at QB in Pittsburgh next season. The Steelers need to break this cycle of painfully mediocre veterans who are a decade past their prime. Russell Wilson bombed. Aaron Rodgers is bound to end in similarly disappointing fashion. Next season, Pittsburgh can finally bring stability and genuine upside to the QB room.
That isn't the best news for Will Howard, though. Right now, there's a window of opportunity with Rodgers and Rudolph both on short-term deals and neither expected to stick around beyond 2025. That could open the door for Howard to elevate his profile and compete for a starting job come 2026. But, if the Steelers add a QB in the first round, the door slams shut pretty quickly. Maybe Howard is still nominally up for the starting job in training camp, but there's no way a prospect of Sellers' caliber rides the bench behind a second-year quarterback from the sixth round.
Maybe Howard is just a career backup, which is a totally fine outcome for a sixth-round pick. But if he wants to level up in the NFL, he'll need to find a way to prove his mettle in training camp and in practices, so much so that Pittsburgh opts to prioritize his development over a more highly touted prospect in 2026. Color me skeptical.