Ohio State quarterback prospect Will Howard isn't considered one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL draft. Don't try to tell him that, though.
In consensus rankings, Howard is No. 7 at quarterback, but not in his eyes.
"I believe I'm the best quarterback in this class," Howard told ESPN. "I think there's unbelievable talent. But if you're going to be a competitor, at the end of the day, you have to have that belief in yourself, and I think that's what helps me get through those adverse times.
"(Expletive) happens. You've got to be able to deal with it, and it's the mentally tough people that are able to overcome those things. I think in my career I've just had to do that over and over again, and I've realized it's a never-ending cycle."
The Arizona Cardinals aren't likely going to select a quarterback in this year's draft, what Howard said should ring familiar to Cardinals fans. Twice in the last seven years, quarterbacks drafted by the Cardinals have made similar statements.
Most recently, after the Cardinals drafted Clayton Tune in the fifth round, he said it.
“I think I’m the best quarterback in this class," Tune said after he was drafted. "If you look at my body of work, the effect that I have on my team that I play on, I elevate everyone around me. I’m a natural leader, people follow me and see the work that I’m putting in and the mindset that I have, and they want to follow suit. I have that no-flinch mentality when things get going tough. Those are some of the intangible things, and then being able to make every throw on the field, being able to make plays off schedule and be more mobile than people realize."
In 2018, when the Cardinals took Josh Rosen 10th overall and was the fourth quarterback selected after Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen, Rosen famously said that the nine teams ahead of the Cardinals made a mistake.
Howard played four seasons for Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in his only season there. He led the Big Ten in completion percentage (73.0%), passing yards (4,010) and touchdown passes (35).
However, he could end up being a Day 3 pick like Tune was.
Can he prove people wrong? Tune certainly didn't, but he still is an NFl quarterback, which is an accomplishment itself.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire:
Topics in this Story
