Shedeur Sanders defends Will Howard amid 2025 NFL Combine criticism

The NFL Scouting Combine is always a time for football fans and talent evaluators across the country to get another look at prospects leading up to the NFL Draft. Plenty of players choose not to workout each year for various reasons. But former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was not one of them. He performed throwing drills at the combine, but drew plenty of criticism online.

Former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders saw all of the criticism and took to his defense on Sunday evening via Twitter.

I don’t understand y’all hating on @whoward_ he just won a natty. It’s hard to throw to WR’s that you don’t know, everyone run routes different !

— Shedeur Sanders (@ShedeurSanders) March 2, 2025

“I don’t understand y’all hating on Will Howard,” Sanders tweeted. “He just won a natty. It’s hard to throw to WRs that you don’t know, everyone run routes different!”

It’s a very legitimate point. And it’s also a reminder that plenty of people tend to overreact to certain data and drills at the NFL Scouting Combine. Sure, it’s fun to look at. But it’s merely a tiny, tiny piece of the scouting puzzle.

And furthermore, when are quarterbacks ever going to throw to receivers in spandex without pads? Certainly not in a game setting. Plenty of times in practice, sure. But Howard has proven at the very highest of levels he can get it done in a game setting. Winning a national championship is no easy feat, even if you do have Jeremiah Smith and a loaded Buckeye offense at your disposal.

Will Howard was impressive in the 2024-2025 season

Howard placed the ball beautifully time and time again during the Buckeyes’ impressive run to the College Football Playoff National Championship. This season, he completed 73.1% of his passes for 4,010 passing yards, while tossing in 35 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He boasted a QBR of 89.6, ranking him first in the nation in that stat category. That included his stats in the playoff where Howard posted 75.5% completion for 287.5 yards per game, eight touchdowns, and a pair of picks.

While there might have been plenty of criticism of Howard, there’s no question he has plenty of supporters out there. One of them is Joel Klatt of FOX, who recently defended him as a top-five quarterback prospect in the upcoming draft.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater also contributed to this article.