{"id":212008,"date":"2025-01-23T12:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T17:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=212008"},"modified":"2025-01-22T19:00:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T00:00:49","slug":"colts-should-consider-will-howard-in-2025-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/23\/colts-should-consider-will-howard-in-2025-nfl-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts Should Consider Big Ten Quarterback in 2025 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019ll be interesting to see which team takes Will Howard in the 2025 NFL Draft. Several quarterback-needy teams will show interest in the Ohio State star. The Indianapolis Colts should consider selecting him as he could compete with Anthony Richardson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Positions like tight end, safety, and cornerback are among the Colts\u2019 biggest weaknesses. But it certainly wouldn\u2019t hurt to add Will Howard\u2014who just won a national championship\u2014to their quarterback room this offseason.<\/p>\n

The Indianapolis Colts Should Consider Taking Will Howard in the 2025 NFL Draft<\/h2>\n

His Collegiate Career<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Will Howard is known for his time at Ohio State, but he began his college career at Kansas State. He backed up current\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> quarterback Skylar Thompson during his freshman season<\/span>. He started the final seven games, though, after Thompson went down with an injury. As a sophomore, he backed up Thompson once again and started three of his six games.<\/p>\n

Howard was set to back up Adrian Martinez in 2022. Yet, he became the starter when Martinez sustained an injury. Howard ended up playing four seasons at Kansas State. During his tenure at the school, he threw for 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns. He also rushed for 921 yards and 19 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Howard transferred to Ohio State for his senior year. This past season, he threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns while adding 226 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He was named third-team All-Big Ten.<\/p>\n

Howard wound up leading the Buckeyes to a victory over Notre Dame<\/a> in the College Football Playoff National Championship. He was named Offensive MVP<\/a> of that game after throwing for 231 yards, rushing for 57 yards, and adding two touchdowns on an 81 percent completion rate. The Buckeyes claimed their ninth national championship. It was their first title since 2014.<\/p>\n

Why the Colts Should Draft Will Howard<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s unclear what the Colts\u2019 quarterback room will look like next season. Anthony Richardson, who Indianapolis drafted fourth overall in 2023, has not proven to be the team\u2019s answer at the position. He possesses the potential to be a star, but he has struggled to stay healthy and needs to improve his accuracy. Richardson\u2019s primary backup this season, Joe Flacco<\/a>, will be a free agent this spring. He will likely sign with another team or retire.<\/p>\n

The Colts are expected to bring in someone like Daniel Jones<\/a> or Jameis Winston to compete with Richardson for the starting job. But why not draft Will Howard? Unlike Miami’s Cam Ward<\/a> or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders<\/a>, he isn\u2019t projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’ll likely be a fourth-round selection. Yet, he possesses an ideal combination of arm strength, accuracy, and athleticism. And at six-foot-four and 240 pounds, the Pennsylvania native is a good-sized athlete.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Howard could fill in for Richardson if he gets hurt. He could eventually take his starting spot if Richardson fails to progress. Howard has a ton of college experience and is a proven winner.<\/p>\n

Signing a veteran quarterback this offseason may be the best option for the Colts. However, they should consider drafting Will Howard if they\u2019re given the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts should think about selecting Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the 2025 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":212223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,12,1647],"tags":[32605,7800,33176],"class_list":["post-212008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-colts","category-nfl-draft","tag-2025-nfl-draft","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-will-howard"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212008"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212225,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212008\/revisions\/212225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}