WIll Howard is not the second coming of Ben Roethlisberger, at least not yet. Comparing Howard to a Steelers legend is unfair to both him and Roethlisberger, who is a future Hall of Famer. However, it's impossible not to notice the similarities in their pre-draft profiles.
I'll start with the obvious – Steelers fans are desperate for a young quarterback to believe in. They thought Kenny Pickett would be that type of player back in 2022. Pickett played his college football at Pitt and received plenty of advice from Roethlisberger along the way, as Pitt and the Steelers share the same facilities. However, Pickett was a reach at the time, and the Steelers made sure not to repeat that mistake by taking Shedeur Sanders far earlier than most NFL teams projected him to go.
Howard was selected later than expected. Given his sixth-round selection, Pittsburgh took Howard more as a flyer, and a player who will likely go into the season as their third-string QB and perhaps a practice squad player if he impresses during training camp.
Will Howard should embrace similarities to Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger
Howard has done little on the field to deserve comparisons to Roethlisberger, of course. Big Ben was one of the better draft prospects of the early 2000's. However, the pre-draft profiles of the two men are relatively similar, at least in terms of measurables. Both players were measured at 6-foot-4 and near 235 pounds. Both players are capable runners and manage the pocket well. Both played their most prominent college football in Ohio, and both are known as winners. In that sense, Howard has Steelers DNA, which is a trait head coach Mike Tomlin has praised among this season's class of Pittsburgh rookies.
Howard was thrilled to be selected by the Steelers, as his pre-draft meetings with Tomlin and Omar Khan impressed him. The Steelers obviously felt similarly.
“It’s been long, I’m not going to lie,” Howard said after the Steelers selected him, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But it’s not about when; it’s where. That’s what I kept saying to myself. The right team picked me. I’m a Pennsylvania kid. It just made a lot of sense. Coming into this process, I was hoping the Steelers would take me just because I felt like it was a great situation. I loved everyone in the organization.”
Howard is unlikely to be the second coming of Roethlisberger, but it's clear the Steelers have a type at quarterback. If his enthusiasm matches his play on the field, Pittsburgh may have gotten a steal behind center after all.