Picture swinging for the fences on two strikes at the bottom of the 9th and hitting a home run. QB Will Howard had one last shot when he left Kansas State and entered the transfer portal. As often as this cliche gets thrown around, this season was truly make or break for Howard’s career. Boy, did he make the most of it. Of all the wrinkles and byproducts of the dominant Ohio State playoff run, Howard was perhaps the biggest beneficiary. He found a new gear, airing that pigskin at an unprecedented clip. He showed poise in the biggest spots, including some crucial 3rd and 4th downs. The very last throw in the Natty was a microcosm of his performances throughout. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for this national champ. The NFL is its own kettle of fish.As much as people deny it, recency bias is a thing. Owing to a brilliant playoff run, Howard’s draft stock initially saw a substantial rise. However, the sample size of this upturn remains relatively small. Although some of the analysis around him has been lazy, Howard isn’t the perfect QB. There are holes in his arsenal. Just like most of his contemporaries in this class. The general consensus is that this draft class is weak at the QB position. At least relative to last year, where 6 went in the top 12. However, it’s not as binary as “weak=bad.” Where this class lacks in top-tier quality, it more than makes up in mid-tier quantity. One draft analyst reckons Will Howard fits into a large bunch that’s tussling for the same landing spots. Hence making things rather bleak for each individual.Dissecting the quarterbacks in this draft over ESPN’s College GameDay podcast, Matt Miller laid forth how Will Howard and at least 4 other QBs are starting at a middling, Day 2 grade. Which is rare for the position, which usually goes really early or really late. “The NFL has really moved to this idea that there’s no middle class [for quarterbacks]. You’re either good enough to go in the first round, or you’re a backup, and you go on Day 3. The round 2 and 3 quarterbacks are kind of becoming extinct. This year. I think it will change,” remarked Miller. He named Howard in this “middle class” alongside some of his competition. One of these was an under-the-radar Kyle McCord.McCord will go down in the annals of college football. As hyperbolic as that may sound, it’s unequivocally true. He’s garnered over 8500 total yards in his vetted career spanning across 2 programs, most of which came at Ohio State. Akin to how Jalen Hurts was forced to pass the baton to Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama, Kyle McCord was deemed surplus to requirements at Ohio State. Akin to Jalen Hurts, he’s only gone from strength to strength after their setbacks at a blueblood. Just this past season, McCord broke the all-time ACC yardage record for a single season for the Syracuse Orange. Kyle McCord presents a unique opportunity. One could argue he’s already close to his ceiling. But that’s just the glass-half-empty perspective. Credit: ImagoThe glass-half-full perspective dictates he can plug in straightaway and provide stable quarterbacking off the cuff. Kyle McCord will be enticing for teams that aren’t looking for a long-term project but, in fact, a ready-made QB2. Think of someone like the Dolphins, with the injury issues for the aforementioned Tua. Apart from McCord, Miller also pitted Will Howard against Jaxson Dart. While most of Dart’s projected draft grade is down to his perceived talent and tangibles, one such facet is out of his control. His Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin’s history of developing NFL-calibre quarterbacks is a potential hindrance. The reason Kiffin-developed QBs don’t convert on the next level is because of his RPO, or Run, Pass, Option heavy offensive scheming. Sure, it works brilliantly on the collegiate level. But the D-coordinators in the NFL are a notch above at cracking it since it’s somewhat simplistic. Dart is still competition for Howard, though. So are 2 more quarterbacks who made this “middle class.”.Will Howard, Kyle McCord, and Jaxson Dart vie against 2 QBs who expected to be further along after collegeThe curious case of Quinn Ewers, who’s staring down the same barrel. A no. 1 ranked, 5-star prospect coming out of high school whose stock seemingly declined year upon year in college. With the competition being so tough in 2024, Ewers chose to stick around and enter the draft in 2025 instead. However, he’s lost some traction during a year riddled with injuries. He’s even nursing one to his oblique right now and missed the Senior Bowl as a result. That said, he’s expected to partake in drills at the Combine. Something not all his peers will do. To be a Day 2 pick off the board is a fall from grace for Ewers. However, it’s still far from an indictment. After all, Will Howard beat him in the Peach Bowl and is still in the same boat. Lastly, but ironically, someone with the highest ceiling of all these quarterbacks. With merely 2 years atop the depth chart and 27 total starts for Alabama, Jalen Milroe is an unknown quantity. A dual threat, Milroe can leg it for a first down almost any time. Such is his burst of pace from in and out of the pocket. However, his arm is still a work in progress, to put it lightly. The potential to become a franchise QB in the vein of Lamar Jackson exists, though. But only if he’s developed really well and given the time. As such, Milroe presents as a project that teams could draft and then stash as a backup as he learns the ropes. The anti-Kyle McCord, if you may. Teams do recognize the talent, and Milroe is gaining places across draft boards.Franchises who’re eyeing a QB2 who can slot in seamlessly under center could do worse than onboard Howard or McCord. Conversely, those looking for a low-risk punt could pick Ewers or Milroe. Dart falls somewhere in between, and that’s your Venn Diagram. The Combine provides each player with an opportunity to make real inroads into the front office’s hiveminds. They’re all fighting over limited spots, though. At least ones that are conducive to growth and have apt environments to develop. We’ve seen what Will Howard can achieve when he is put into one.The post Will Howard Receives Concerning NFL Verdict as Draft Stock Hits New Low With 4 Other QB Prospects appeared first on EssentiallySports.