Heading into the college football playoffs, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was considered a mid-round draft pick at best.
Ranked the 98th player on the Pro Football Focus Big Board and the 129th ranked player on NFL Mock Draft Database's Consensus Board, Howard was thus expected to go in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, with the potential to climb up the board a bit depending on the pre-draft process. Now granted, for a Kansas State transfer who was hardly considered an NFL prospect heading into the season, this is a major jump for Howard, but in a draft lacking premier talent, such a middle-of-the-road grade said a lot about the signal caller's ceiling.
But after winning the National Championship game? After balling out in the National Championship game to the tune of 17 completions on 21 attempts for 231 yards and two touchdowns on the way to a 34-23 victory? Goodness, surely some NFL general manager would see that sort of performance and want to give him a shot on their roster, right?
Well, based on social media reactions to his game, it certainly feels that way, with fans, evaluators, and pundits alike celebrating what they saw from the Downingtown, Pennsylvania native.
Need proof? Well, look no further than his own teammate and eventual NFL WR1 Jeremiah Smith, who boldly declared that his quarterback was worthy of a first-round draft selection while wearing goggles during the team's big celebration.
“He showed the kind of quarterback he is. In my eyes, he's a first-round draft pick,” Smith declared. “I mean, Will's just a great leader both on and off the field as well. He had a great week of preparation, and he just led up to victory tonight.”
Now granted, is Smith biased? Yeah, he probably is, but that didn't stop fans of the Browns from hoping that their favorite team would land the OSU signal caller in the second round at pick 35 or from other fanbases, like the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants, from publically debating in the internet's town square whether or not Smith should be the guy to lead them into the future.
Needless to say, Howard has unquestionably made himself a ton of money over the last few weeks in the college football playoffs, but where should he want to land come April? Well, why not read on to find out?

1. Will Howard could succeed with the Las Vegas Raiders
Much like, say, Quinn Ewers, who is currently sitting as a Day 2 draft pick in the eyes of most talent evaluators, every team in the NFL is theoretically in play for Howard's services, be that with a late first-round pick or at the top of the second round Will Levis-style.
Would it be wild to pick Howard sixth overall? Yes, that would be almost as unfortunate as selecting Byron Young out of Alabama instead of Byron Young out of Tennessee in the third round a few years back based on the current talent evaluations alone. But what if Howard was still there at pick 38? Would a team like the Las Vegas Raiders pick the Ohio State product as a buy-mid quarterback who is used to playing with an NFL-caliber supporting cast after already selecting a blue-chip prospect like Abdul Carter?
Considering the infrastructure the team already has in place, that feels like a pretty good idea, indeed, assuming the top quarterbacks are already off the board.
Now granted, it's hard to really judge the Raiders' infrastructure completely until they lock up a new head coach, as they have officially missed out on their widely projected top choice, Ben Johnson. But assuming they don't pull a Byron Young on the proceedings and hire a quality leader of men who brings along an offensive scheme designed to optimize the talent already on the roster, a player like Howard could shine early on after beginning the season as a QB2 Drake Maye-style.
That's right, after failing to land an elite quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Raiders instead loaded up on quality players for the day that player eventually came to town, including Brock Browers, who just had the best rookie tight end season in NFL history, and the offensive line tandem of Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze, who were no slouches either. Factor in Jakobi Meyers, who is one of the best WR2s in the NFL, and Michael Mayer, who was already a great TE1 before Bowers came to town, and the Raiders have the bones of a pretty good offense in need of a leader.
Could Howard be that guy? Sure, just give him a WR1 like Tee Higgins using some of the team's cap space, and who knows, maybe the Raiders could finally return to the playoffs if Howard is able to appear in double-digit games for the Raiders as a rookie.

2. Will Howard could develop long-term behind Matthew Stafford
Alternatively, the other path that could see Howard find a long-term home at the NFL level is via a more long-term perspective, learning behind a veteran quarterback nearing the end of his professional football career.
If that's the path Howard ends up taking – which, barring an Eli Manning-style draft demand, really isn't his choice – he couldn't dream of a better landing spot than Los Angeles, where he could learn from Matthew Stafford before potentially taking over Sean McVay's offense as QB1.
Sounds too perfect? Almost like landing at Ohio State on the way to a one-and-done National Championship journey? Sure thing, but considering Stafford appears to be heading back for the 2025 NFL season, the Rams would be incredibly wise to lock up his long-term replacement this spring, assuming they aren't extremely fond of 27-year-old rookie Stetson Bennet as their next guy up.
Enter Howard, the Buckeyes' 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback who just finished out his college career with just short of 10,000 passing yards between Ohio State and Kansas State.
Now granted, Howard is not what you call an elite quarterback prospect, as he doesn't do anything better than anyone else in his quarterback class, but he's got a good arm, is far more mobile than Stafford, and has found success in multiple different schemes. Granted, does Howard put the ball into harm's way a bit too often? Yes, as his three seasons with double-digit interceptions clearly prove, but if he can take some time to learn from a proven vet like Stafford and then play under an offensive guru like McVay? A play caller who has proven time and time again that he will never fall out of touch nearly a decade into his NFL career, and what do you have? A quarterback incubator that has already helped both Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff find success outside of McVay's system.
Would some fans complain that Howard could end up becoming a career backup, never actually getting a chance to shine at the NFL level? Sure, that is always a possibility, but considering the supporting cast both on the field and on the sidelines that Los Angeles GM Les Snead has assembled, few teams are better set up for a quarterback to succeed at some point in the future, be that 2025, 2026, or even a year or two further down the line.