Pat McAfee passionately defends Will Howard against Cam Ward, NFL Draft criticism

Pat McAfee is never one to hold his tongue about quarterbacks.

The former NFL punter and ESPN personality ruffled feathers around his hometown Indianapolis when he criticized second-year Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson tapping out of a play against the Houston Texans this past season. The controversy, and subsequent benching and reinstatement of Richardson as Indianapolis’ starting quarterback, created a clear rift between McAfee and the only NFL franchise he played for over his seven-year career.

Now, McAfee is going to bat for another NFL-bound quarterback: Ohio State‘s Will Howard.

During a discussion with NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah on Thursday’s The Pat McAfee Show, in which Jeremiah explained his “clear-cut” Top 2 quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft class — Miami‘s Cam Ward and Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders — McAfee took exception to the complete absense of the newly-crowned national champion quarterback.

“What the f***, dude?” a visibly frustrated McAfee shouted at Jeremiah. “You know who I’m going to bring up now? F***ing Will Howard. Cam Ward lost to Syracuse. No offense, no offense. … You can look at anybody’s tape looking for shit, you’re going to find it on anybody.”

Jeremiah defended his preference for Ward by citing Miami’s FBS-leading offense.

“Yeah, and played in the ACC, they stole a win against Virginia Tech, they stole a win against Cal. … I love Cam Ward, I’m not saying that Cam Ward is not a guy I wouldn’t want on my team,” McAfee continued. “But acting like, … all these draft people are like: ‘This is a bad quarterback class.’ The motherf***er that just won a national championship, who’s 6-4 240 (pounds), now we’re hearing he’s not a good one?

“He can run all over the yard, yeah, he did it at Kansas State when he was Big 12 Player of the Year there, (but now the knock is) he’s got too many weapons. It’s like, what the f***? … He’s smart, he figures things out. He’s in a new offensive system with Chip Kelly and Ryan Day. He’s only gotten better. … (audible sigh) … I’m not happy about it. I think it’s disrespectful to (Howard).”

Pat McAfee calls Daniel Jeremiah ‘a f***ing hater’ for Will Howard stance

Jeremiah then raised a hypothetical involving Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is ESPN expert Mel Kiper Jr.‘s third-ranked QB in the 2025 draft class, suggesting Dart would have also won a national championship surrounded by the loaded Ohio State roster.

“That’s cute. That’s very cute,” McAfee shot back. “Are we doing that with Brock Purdy in the NFL too, or does his brain matter in this?”

Jeremiah: “No. I’m just saying, look, I’m just asking a question here.”

McAfee: “It sounds like you’re a f***ing hater.”

“Once again, love Cam, love Shedeur, if we’re going to throw Jaxson in there, sweet, love Jaxson. But I just feel like, this (Howard) guy, we’ve seen it, we’ve watched it live,” McAfee continued. “That Tennessee defense was supposed to be (full of) thumpers, fast. … We’re making excuses for everybody but Will Howard, obviously, but in that particular case, he just looks the part. Everything about him just looks the part.”

At this point, Jeremiah made sure to clarify his particular stance on Howard’s current draft stock, describing the Buckeyes captain as a likely Day 2 selection.

“I’ve never said fifth, sixth round (for Howard). That’s crazy talk to me. I think he’s going to be a Day 2 pick, which is a second- or third-rounder,” Jeremiah said. “And if he aces (the interviews) and teams meet with him and fall in love with him and everything, then sure. Who knows how high he can go? But I will say, when I’m watching him, … God, I can’t take my eyes off 4 (Jeremiah Smith), I can’t take my eyes off (running back) TreVeyon Henderson.”

McAfee wrapped up his lengthy defense of Howard by doubling down on the overlooked value of Howard’s inherent leadership skills after stepping in and guiding the Buckeyes to a national championship in his lone season in Columbus.

“There’s the other problem … it’s like that’s their fault they got put on a good roster,” McAfee concluded. “They all rallied around Will too, … it’s like the human aspect thing you guys seemingly get lost in.”