Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy has made it clear he\u2019s a fan of second-year QB Will Howard. His belief in Howard didn\u2019t suddenly come about after he took the Steelers job, however. He told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings that he would\u2019ve drafted Howard earlier than the sixth round.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was drafting players [last] year, he wouldn\u2019t have been around in the fifth or sixth round. I valued him higher than that based off Kansas State, and man I thought he jumped out of the TV set during the college playoffs,\u201d McCarthy said via TribLive\u2019s Chris Adamski<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s definitely a real prospect as a starting quarterback. I believed that when he came out.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean McCarthy thinks Howard is a perfect prospect. He broke down some areas where he thinks Howard could stand to improve.<\/p>\n \u201cYou talk about his throwing motion, some things throwing the ball, there\u2019s a lot of growth with his feet,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cThe challenge I see in college football, it\u2019s so scheme heavy. There\u2019s not a lot of training in the footwork.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s room for development there.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike McCarthy on Will Howard: \u201cHe has all the traits to be a starting quarterback.\u201d \u2014 Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n McCarthy also talked about the importance of being able to win from the pocket and win in the two-minute drill. Notably, when discussing Howard\u2019s footwork, McCarthy also mentioned Aaron Rodgers\u2019 footwork, calling him \u201cthe guy ahead of him.\u201d Last year, Rodgers helped Howard with his five-step drop<\/a> early in mandatory minicamp, and another season of Rodgers mentoring Howard could help him clean up some of the issues McCarthy noted.<\/p>\n If Rodgers doesn\u2019t return, there\u2019s been a lot of speculation that the Steelers could turn to Howard as their Plan B. McCarthy\u2019s comments will fuel those flames, even though he made it clear there\u2019s still room for improvement. Howard has yet to play in any NFL game, as he missed last preseason, and it\u2019s hard to rely on him without him playing. McCarthy seems to be a big fan of him, and it\u2019s not the worst idea for the Steelers to get a better sense of what they have in Howard and whether he can handle a starting job.<\/p>\n If the Steelers and McCarthy can develop Howard into a starting-caliber player, it would be a big win for a franchise that needs a long-term solution at quarterback. But it\u2019s much easier said than done, and there\u2019s still plenty that Howard needs to improve. Having Rodgers back would help, and McCarthy has worked with plenty of talented quarterbacks, so there\u2019s a chance they can get Howard to the point where he can start. It just might not happen as soon as some would like.<\/p>\n
Says if he was in charge of a draft last year that Howard would not have lasted at all into the 6th round. pic.twitter.com\/SQoxYAtUOg<\/a><\/p>\n