Steelers Rookie QB Will Howard Outperforming Kenny Pickett

With Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph firmly ahead of him on the depth chart, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard is at a disadvantage when it comes to earning playing time this season.

In the eyes of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko, however, Howard's already ahead of 2022 first-round Kenny Pickett in terms of how each player performed at their first training camps with the Steelers.

"Will Howard ... I thought on-field stuff, yeah, he looked somewhat poised," Batko said on 93.7 The Fan's Morning Show, per Steelers Depot's Ross McCorkle. "The guy that first pops into my mind when I think of a rookie at Steelers training camp is Kenny Pickett ... He looked, I thought, more skittish, and maybe that was just [because] some of the guys in front of him were stocking shelves a couple months later. But I remember him looking like the game was moving pretty fast, and it wasn't like any of us, I don't think, were clamoring for him to move up the depth chart quickly.

"With Will Howard, I don't think it's gonna be long before Skylar Thompson, all due respect to that young man, is in the rearview and Howard's working in there as the third quarterback."

Though Pickett struggled during his first few practices at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, he improved throughout the course of that summer and eventually usurped Rudolph for the No. 2 job behind Mitch Trubisky entering the regular season.

Pickett would officially take over the starting duties in Week 5 of his rookie year, but he did little to impress the Steelers' brass throughout his tenure with the team and was eventually shipped off to the Philadelphia Eagles in March 2024 before being rerouted once again this offseason to the Cleveland Browns.

Howard has made a strong impression since the Steelers selected him in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the No. 185 overall pick. He improved as OTAs went on following an admittedly rough start, and the early returns on his training camp performance have been positive as well.

The 23-year-old was praised for his pocket presence in college, so it comes as no surprise that he's carried that trait over to the pros. There's also little pressure on Howard this year as he develops behind a pair of veterans, and he should have ample opportunities to keep growing throughout camp and the preseason.