If there’s one thing we can take away from the early stages of Mike McCarthy’s reign in Pittsburgh, it’s that he loves the quarterback position. Specifically, the candidates in Pittsburgh. McCarthy has talked plenty about his desire to have Aaron Rodgers back in the fold, but it doesn’t end there. The new head coach has also had lots of praise for second-year quarterback Will Howard.

That continued this week, with McCarthy mentioning he would have taken Howard sooner than the Steelers did in 2025, in the sixth round. Yet Rich Eisen isn’t sure how true that statement is.

“McCarthy was saying, ‘If I was in charge of the draft, he wouldn’t have lasted as long as he did, I would’ve taken him.’ Which sounds like a coach talking somebody up,” Eisen said Wednesday on his show.

For what it’s worth, McCarthy is obviously going to be complimentary of his new players. He hasn’t had a chance to work with this roster yet. Without many candidates at quarterback, it’s not surprising he’s intrigued by the only young option on the roster. And even if he wasn’t, it would still make some sense to continuously praise Howard if the Steelers are trying to hide their draft-day motives.

But that praise has been going on for a while now. Despite having no NFL experience yet, many are already willing to hand the keys to Howard in hopes that he could become the long-term answer at the position.

Will Howard could very well become that guy. Or, the opposite can happen, and the Steelers could take some lumps with him leading the offense. Eisen’s co-host, Chris Brockman, mentioned that the Steelers starting Howard and failing, yet landing a high draft pick in the process, could end up working out after all. Eisen isn’t so sure, and he thinks it would be hard to explain to the veterans on the team.

“You saying, let’s go 3-14, have the best-case scenario for a new quarterback, are you the one to tell that to T.J. Watt, and Cam Heyward? Are you the one to deliver that information to the vets?” Eisen asked. “That’s where the Steelers are.”

The Steelers are not a franchise that’s ever going to punt on a season, as much as some may want them to. This also makes the idea of starting Howard very interesting. Pittsburgh knows as much as anybody else that it needs to find a long-term answer at that position. But there are some risks that come with starting someone unproven, as with Howard. Including a losing season.

Howard is liked by the city and his teammates for good reason. But if he gets the chance to start, and the season tanks as a result, that could be tough to stomach. Especially for players like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt, who Eisen mentions. Those two haven’t achieved as much as the legends of the Steelers’ past, and a wasted year in 2026 would sting.

Yet, at some point, the Steelers have to take that leap. And Will Howard does have plenty of promise in his game. But Eisen isn’t sure the Steelers are as enthusiastic about him as they say they are.