With the uncertainty surrounding Aaron Rodgers, and with the team not having a starting-caliber quarterback under contract currently, the expectation was that the Pittsburgh Steelers would address the quarterback position earlier than later in the 2025 NFL draft.
However, the first two days of the draft came and went and the Steelers did not take a quarterback. Making that more controversial was the fact that Pittsburgh decided to pass on Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders multiple times before he ultimately ended up with the Steelers’ division rival, the Cleveland Browns.
Finally, the Steelers sprung for a quarterback in the sixth round, taking Ohio State signal-caller Will Howard with the No. 185 overall pick. Now, the Steelers will develop Howard in the hopes he can be a future answer at the position.
While the Steelers received plenty of criticism for their draft approach, including from ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who was downright obsessed with Sanders’ slide, The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer defended the Steelers for not taking a quarterback earlier and called the controversy surrounding their approach an overreaction.
The Steelers did end up drafting a good arm and athletic talent for their run-heavy, downfield-passing offense under Arthur Smith in Will Howard. It’s down to Howard, Mason Rudolph, and Skylar Thomas in the QB room, but this just might mean they were slow-playing the signing of Aaron Rodgers.
If they don’t end up with Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, or another available veteran late in the offseason, it also should be considered the right move. The Steelers have had a high floor, going 10-7 with shaky QB messes the past two seasons. If they didn’t think Sanders or Dart or Shough could give them a higher ceiling, then they were right to pass on potential immediate starters. The 2026 class has better options early on the board.
Iyer goes on to say that he believes the Steelers learned their lesson about forcing a quarterback pick from the Kenny Pickett debacle.
This is the lesson learned from forcing a late first-rounder on Kenny Pickett (No. 20 overall) in a terrible 2022 QB draft class. They also learned from going makeshift QB with Wilson and Justin Fields when Williams, Maye, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix went in the first round.
It’s hard to blame the Steelers for not going all out for a quarterback in this year’s draft, as the class was widely considered extremely weak. At least the team did secure a developmental quarterback like Howard, which gives at least some semblance of hope for the future.
All that said, the Steelers are still in a precarious spot at the position. There’s simply no telling if Rodgers will actually sign, and Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are not the answers the team needs.
If Rodgers falls through, the Steelers will be looking at a trio of Rudolph, Howard and Thompson, and it goes without saying that simply isn’t good enough.
The Steelers could add Kirk Cousins to that group via trade, although he’s hardly an exciting option and certainly isn’t better than Rodgers, who could also come cheaper and won’t cost draft capital to acquire.
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