Analytical study reveals how Ohio State QB Will Howard compares to $151 million NFL star

The race to find the next great NFL quarterback is always ongoing, and the 2025 NFL Draft class is the latest chance for franchises to get a stab at finding one. It’s not always a top pick who proves to be the man for a franchise, and sometimes, being very good is good enough to win with and build around.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard is hoping to become one of the best steals in recent years. Coming off a tremendous College Football Playoff streak that catapulted his stock into the top-100 of big boards, Howard is now viewed as a legitimate Day 2 option based on film. The latest analytical study from FanDuel agrees and ranks him as the third-best passer in the class.

FanDuel compared his age, game total, average yards per attempt, total QBR, and overall percentile rank to historical prospects. His total statistical comparison favored former Cleveland Browns third-round pick Kevin Hogan, but his overall package was closer to Jimmy Garoppolo’s.

Garoppolo was a second-round pick of the New England Patriots before he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He was a successful game manager who was close to winning a Super Bowl, but ultimately fell just short. He made almost $152 million during his NFL career and will surpass that total on his next deal.

Jimmy G and Howard have little in common on the field. Unlike Garoppolo, Howard is a gamer who will extend plays and can survive when pressured. He’s not as crisp of a passer as Garoppolo, and they both have some passing limitations. But Howard is the better athlete, and probably has a higher upside.

Here’s what FanDuel said about Howard.

Let’s start on the positive end: Howard shot up this list thanks to what he did in the College Football Playoff. During the regular season, Howard’s Total QBR was 83.0. This is perfectly acceptable and ranked seventh in the nation.

Thanks to what he did in the playoffs, he finished at 89.6, the best number of any quarterback this year. If he had finished at 83.0, he’d be in just the 75th percentile of the model. Instead, he’s a respectable 83rd.

If you’re going to be an older quarterback, you had better be efficient. Howard did that.

The age is what keeps Howard from climbing higher on this list. Not only is he in the 25th percentile of age, but he’s tied in games played with Dart — who is 1.7 years younger — while being a full season behind Ward, who is 0.7 years younger.

This pushes Howard to the 83rd percentile of the model. There have been some successes surrounding this range as you’re within shouting distance of Andrew Luck while being ahead of Justin Herbert and Drake Maye. But only 4 of 13 players between the 80th and 85th percentile did go in the first round, and none of them (Trey Lance, Dwayne Haskins, Paxton Lynch, and Blake Bortles) truly hit.