The 2025 NFL Draft has come and gone, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback room now consists of Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and Will Howard, whom Pittsburgh selected in the sixth round on Saturday. It’s not a pretty on paper, but despite the lack of star power, the Steelers have a relatively clear—if gradual—path to strengthening this group. It might just take a few years, even if everything goes according to plan.
Of course, not every resident of the Steel City has the patience for that kind of process. Some fans are still clinging to hopes of seeing Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins under center this season. However, the reported “optimism” within the organization about Rodgers has lingered for weeks without any visible progress, and the Cousins chatter remains purely speculative—there’s been no confirmed interest from Pittsburgh. Both would also come with significant salary cap hits, limiting flexibility for other negotiations, including a potential T.J. Watt extension. For now, Rudolph leading the team into Week 1 just makes the most sense.
Rudolph under center, at least short-term, has value in two ways. First, if he underperforms, the Steelers could end up with a high pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, setting the stage for a quarterback of the future. But I’m not ready to start counting down to next year’s draft just yet, and that’s because, second, Rudolph’s presence allows Howard to spend a year as the backup and adjust to life in the NFL.
Howard isn’t likely to start this season unless injuries pile up or he shows exponential development in camp. That said, the former Buckeye should not be overlooked.
In his lone season at Ohio State, he accounted for the fourth-most touchdowns among FBS quarterbacks (35) and threw for 4,010 yards—sixth-most in the country—at a clip of 9.5 yards per attempt. Maybe more important than any stat, though, is the fact that he led the Buckeyes to their first national title since 2014. Howard is a proven winner, and a year behind Rudolph gives him the opportunity to learn how to win in the NFL while Pittsburgh evaluates whether it needs to target a quarterback in 2026.
If Howard proves to be a long-term solution, that will solve everything. I believe he has that potential, but for the sake of argument, let’s say the Steelers don’t like what they see. Meanwhile, Rudolph’s play earns the team the No. 10 overall pick in next year’s draft. In that scenario, it’s very possible a promising prospect, such as Drew Allar or Nico Iamaleava, is still available.
The problem is, I’m not convinced Mike Tomlin and Co. would pull the trigger. There may still be organizational trauma from the Kenny Pickett pick, but everyone involved has to put that aside if a quarterback that they like is available. Drafting a quarterback to be your immediate starter is always risky, but passing on a top prospect in this hypothetical scenario would completely derail this plan and land the franchise right back where it is today. That cannot happen.
At this point, many fans have lost all excitement about Rodgers, thanks to the seemingly never-ending drama surrounding his decision-making. We’ve seen enough of Rudolph in the black and gold to know he’s not the answer. And frankly, let’s not put too much faith in a front office that passed on Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson but fell head-over-heels for Pickett. So here’s hoping Jon Gruden was right when he compared Howard to Josh Allen, because if not, I might be writing a very similar article a couple of years from now.
