Will Howard makes a big impression

Jon Gruden brought back the ‘Gruden QB Camp’ series this year. It’s longer, more detailed and comes with a harder edge this time. The first episode is with Will Howard. I dare anyone to watch it and not come away thoroughly impressed with the Ohio State quarterback.

You can check it out by clicking here.

Being on the show can be a stressful experience. Gruden barks out different plays, audibles, what he wants the quarterback to say and do in the huddle. There’s a ton of information thrown at Howard and yet he processes it all with ease.

Throughout the episode Gruden looks across the table at him like a proud father. There’s a glint in his eye. He clearly liked his ability to take on the information and he liked his cadence.

A couple of people in the NFL world have said to me they think Howard is the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft. His football IQ is said to be off the charts and you see that clearly evidenced in this episode.

I asked one person not known for dishing out praise to quarterbacks what he thought Howard’s range is. He initially said second round, then suggested he might even sneak into the late first. I was taken aback because this individual is usually hard to please.

If this is what he’s displaying to teams it won’t be a surprise frankly. Howard doesn’t have the physical upside to project he’ll be an athletic marvel at the next level. He’s pretty good across the board though — as a passer, a runner and getting the ball out quickly under pressure.

He can be a very capable point guard. Not necessarily someone who you put the game on his back and ask him to out-gun Patrick Mahomes on the road but certainly someone who can lead an offense, manage a game and make enough plays to sustain drives and put points on the board.

Look at what he did in the playoffs. His QBR over the four games was 96.4. That’s virtually perfect. Ohio State were 50% on third down conversions. When the pressure was at its highest, he delivered in a big way.

A lot of young quarterbacks simply cannot process the way Howard does in that Gruden video. They drown in the jargon and complexity of it all. Howard looks like he’s learned the NFL language already and can pick things up pretty quickly.

This is half the battle. It’s why young quarterbacks fail. They go into their first camp and can’t process the information or execute. The entire rest of the roster then looks at them with a feeling of ‘this guy doesn’t know what he’s doing’. Imagine knowing the whole team thinks that, you go in the next day, and you’re no better. So many young quarterbacks look great in college with their half-field reads and easy play-calls with everything set up for them to execute. What you see in the Gruden video is life in the NFL — and it’s so frickin different to college. It takes no effort to imagine why so many young quarterbacks find their careers are over before they even begin.

Howard might not have the physical tools to ‘wow’ anyone but if you draft him, he’s walking into camp with a grasp of what’s going on. He will engineer immediate buy-in and respect. His pathway to competency and comfort within the league will be far shorter. This matters.

One other thing to note. A few weeks ago I wrote a piece detailing the quarterbacks in this draft class with a 2024 QBR over 80:

Cam Ward — 88.0
Dillon Gabriel — 86.5
Kurtis Rourke — 85.7
Jaxson Dart — 84.7
Will Howard — 83.0
Jalen Milroe — 82.8

Here’s a list of all the players between 2021-2024 with a QBR above 80 and where they were drafted:

Jayden Daniels — First round
Bo Nix — First round
JJ McCarthy — First round
Michael Penix Jr — First round
Caleb Williams — First round
Kenny Pickett — First round
CJ Stroud — First round
Bryce Young — First round
Mac Jones — First round
Justin Fields — First round
Zach Wilson — First round
Trevor Lawrence — First round
Kyle Trask — Second round
Hendon Hooker — Third round (injury)
Matt Corral — Third round (character flags)
Ian Book — Fourth round (physical limitations)

We know Cam Ward is going in the first round and there’s a reasonable chance Jaxson Dart will too. Kurtis Rourke won’t be a high pick but his stock will be heavily impacted by his knee surgery. Dillon Gabriel may be a mid-round pick due to his size.

Then you’ve got Howard and Jalen Milroe.

It’s been revealed Milroe has been invited to the draft in Green Bay, leading to speculation that he might go earlier than expected. Well, if the list above is anything to go by, the fact he has a QBR over 80 makes it quite likely he’ll be a high pick — whether he succeeds at the next level or not.

Howard will go earlier than people expect too. There is a definite trend here with the +80 QBR ratings. Put that with his playoff performance, football intelligence and pro-readiness and he is destined to be a higher pick that most realise.

Ty Robinson, Jared Wilson & Jalen Milroe are visiting the Seahawks

According to Tony Pauline, the Nebraska lineman will make the trip to Seattle.

Tony cites league sources who believe he can be a more athletic version of Cam Heyward. I can see it. Robinson lacks Heyward’s length but they have a very similar playing style and demeanour. The projection is a potential late second round range.

He also has the kind of personality the Seahawks love. If you missed my interview with him, check it out here.

I think he could be very much on Seattle’s radar to add to their defensive line rotation. He’d be an excellent pick in the mould of the old-school AFC North teams.

Wilson is an almost identical prospect to Erik McCoy, who excelled at center under Klint Kubiak in New Orleans. He is definitely a name to keep an eye on for day two.

Meanwhile, Milroe is also making an official-30 visit to the Seahawks. He’s the second confirmed quarterback visit after Tyler Shough. It speaks to the team doing as much due diligence as possible on this class. Drafting a quarterback at some stage is a possibility.

Milroe as a passer and a processor is an absolute mile off where he needs to be. As an athlete and a runner though he’s dynamic. I’m not sure you can develop the passing side of his game to a good enough level. However, Mike Macdonald has seen first-hand what a quality running quarterback can do. Milroe also has excellent character. He’s just such a frustratingly limited passer.

Here are all of Seattle’s publicly confirmed official visits so far:

Nick Emmanwori
Tyler Shough
Savion Williams
Bryce Cabeldue
Chase Lundt
Shavon Revel Jr
Mason Taylor
Mykel Williams
Ty Robinson
Jalen Milroe
Jared Wilson