Will Howard saw his draft stock rise after leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship. Enough so to where he could find himself as the new starting quarterback of an NFC team.
This season was supposed to be the season where the Detroit Lions took the next step. Instead, they fell even shorter than they did last year and were eliminated in the Divisional Round of the playoffs by the Washington Commanders.
It is clearly evident now, Jared Goff is holding the Lions back, and Detroit needs a new quarterback.
Jared Goff to be Replaced by Will Howard in the 2025 NFL Draft
The Lions have the talent with Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jameson Williams, but they don’t have the signal caller under center to truly help elevate the potential of the offense to the fullest. Goff is a game managing quarterback that isn’t mobile and fails to adjust to defenses post-snap.
This was showcased against Washington as he completed just 23-of-40 passes for one touchdown with three interceptions. With Ben Johnson now gone as well, the entire offense for Detroit will head in a different direction, and that includes the quarterback position.
Will Howard’s Fit on the Detroit Lions
With Will Howard, he is coming off leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to being National Champions. Howard put together a season in which he threw for 4,003 yards and 35 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions over a 72.8% completion rate, while also rushing for 328 yards and seven touchdowns. Throughout the season he fully displayed his ability to impact the offense with his high-level processing, accuracy, ability to manipulate defenses with his eyes to create openings for his receivers, and athleticism to run as well.
With the Lions, their playmakers are very similar to what Howard was used to working with. Emeka Egbuka has been compared to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Quinshon Judkins has a very similar rushing style to that of Gibbs. Howard was used to having a one-two punch at running back with Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, and he would have that again with Gibbs and David Montgomery.
With where the Lions fall in the draft, they would be right around the range for drafting Howard without having to give up draft capital to get him. He is the best replacement for Goff through the draft to uplift the team
