The Steelers have not heard if Aaron Rodgers will play a 22nd season, and while they expect to hear from their 2025 starter that he will return soon, another quarterback is heading to Pittsburgh. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who visited with the team this month, is going to the Steelers at No. 76 overall as the fourth QB off the board.
Allar is a clear development pick; he didn’t even start playing quarterback until high school. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Allar boasts a prototypical frame reminiscent of the late 2000’s and 2010’s battles between Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco. He has a decent arm and above average mobility for a passer his size, rushing for 732 yards and 12 touchdowns at Penn State. The Nittany Lions went 26-9 with Allar as the starter under center.
After coming off the bench as a true freshman, Allar’s first year as a starter drew interesting results. The highlights saw elite discipline as he threw for 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions, but those results came with a 59.9% completion rate and only 202.4 passing yards per game.
He improved greatly in his second year as the starter, increasing his completion percentage to 66.5, but in three more games, he threw one fewer touchdown and eight interceptions while averaging just 207.9 yards per game. His final year in Happy Valley got off to a rough start. When a broken ankle ended his season, the Nittany Lions were 3-3 and Allar was averaging just 183.3 yards per game.
The production never quite matched the potential or the physical tools for Allar. He showed an ability to make anticipatory throws and read a defense with efficiency. His low interception rate was a benefit but really came as a result of a conservative passing approach, leading too often to second-guessing and active scrambling. The lack of accuracy stemmed from a lack of consistency on drop backs, messy footwork, and a lack of touch to layer throws. A perceived lack of chemistry with his receiving weapons was considered a factor for Allar’s inability to produce big plays.
If there’s anybody who can develop the production out of a quarterback that has oozed potential for four years, its new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. Ideally, Rodgers does return to start as expected, allowing Allar to sit and develop while learning from McCarthy and a four-time MVP. If Rodgers doesn’t end up back in Pittsburgh, though, Allar should have an opportunity to compete for a role in the hierarchy with fellow Steelers’ draft picks Mason Rudolph and Will Howard.
Now this pic makes me happy. He is definitely our new quarterback for the future. Let’s go Steelers. Renegade baby.
Obviously you never watched him play huh
Great value pick
I would not have touched this guy on day 2. He has talent, but he needs such an overhaul as a player. I would have drafted Nussmeier over him in a heartbeat.
Yeah, I loved the Bernard pick, but I really don’t like this one.
Unless Howard looks MUCH worse than we think, I don’t see why Pittsburgh would make another developmental QB pick here. That’s even if Allar impressed me this past year, which he did not.
I’m not much of a Howard believer, but there are still too many actual good players still on the board to take Allar. I do like Bernard, though. He might not ever be a good fantasy football player, but barring injury, I’d be very surprised if he isn’t a solid contributor in real football.
I mean, I’m with you. I just see the two as redundant, especially with the Steelers’ needs being what they are.
Khan seems to have made some good non-draft moves this offseason, but the Steelers feel like they need one of those player stocking drafts where they load up on great value contributors at core positions, not take a third round flier on a guy who’s mostly been a name in his college career. They have good placeholders around the team, but they need to start stocking up on youth to refill the player pipelines that the Steelers used to have.
Agreed. But also I would approve if it were Nussmeier. I think he has much more shot to be something, even if it’s just a backup.
I’m with you on that, too.
I love this Dunker pick, though. So, if this pattern holds, the next Steelers pick is going to be an absolute head scratcher.
New coaching staff in Pittsburgh. They won’t have any loyalty to fringe players brought in by the last coaching staff.
Agreed or Cade Klubnik
He can look like an NFL QB all he wants but MAN never once did I see a Penn State football and leave saying he looked like the prospect he was lauded to be coming into college. Shrunk in every big moment. There was such better value at this pick.
Allar’s family is season ticket holders for the Browns😂
Those poor people having to watch the Browns and also Drew Allar all these years.
Cold blooded, lmao
Allar is the most talented quarterback in this draft and the issues he had at Penn State were not really all his fault. He was surrounded by very bad receivers that could not catch a football for 4 years
So this is a very good pick and in a few years could end up being the best quarterback pick in this draft if he’s given the opportunity to show his talent
Disagree 100%. Having watched him, there has been nothing to indicate this kid will be anything beyond a clipboard holder
This was a hometown pick by a franchise looking for some good PR, nothing more. They’ve had a horrible draft and are trying to put lipstick on a pig
They’ll be in this exact same position, looking for a QB one year from now
I believe we’ve found Omar Khan’s burner account.
No he has the biggest arm. Certainly NOT a very talented QB…go watch his tape. Steelers overdrafted him and he will be lucky to be Will Howard’s backup
Another QB from a Pennsylvania college that the Steelers drafted too soon. Cue the definition of insanity, please.
Their head QB scout is afraid to fly.
hackenberg part deux
Funny that you guys are so psyched for this guy. He barely had 1,000 passing yards last year…do you even know anything about him or are you just talking just to talk?? There are guys who had more receiving yards than he had passing yards. I’m a Steelers fan too but come on…be realistic. We don’t have a starter on our roster and Rodger’s is a joke. He can barely throw 20 yards anymore, and we won’t ever win squat with him and everyone else in the league knows it🤣. Mahomes, burrow, Allen, Lamar, Bo nix, like we would have to get through these guys to get anywhere…with a washed up has been who complains at everyone on his o line or his receiving core…IN FRONT of God and everyone, berating them like HE isn’t the problem. He’s an idiot, and we’re waiting for him?? To boot, we just wasted a pick cause I’m telling you, our QB of the future is not on our roster. You HAVE to do this cause you don’t even have a third QB and this fossil hasn’t decided if he’s done decaying yet
What a lmao pick
I don’t care which QB the Steelers draft just so long as it helps deflate Rodgers ego…lol.
They would have been better off drafting Garrett Nussmeier
Kid and his family are Browns season ticket holders, die hard Browns fans…Drew wouldn’t even put on the Steelers hat after he was drafted 😳 talk about awkward 😳 at best he’s a backup to Will Howard…. Steelers had no plan coming into this draft…none
The depths of this train wreck are almost incomprehensible. It’s like they’re trying to harken back to an era that saw little regarded players coming here and going on to Hall of Fame careers. That time has long past.
Just incredible.
The last Browns fan the Steelers drafted to play QB worked out OK.
I believe he’s still the winningest QB in your stadium’s history.
Should be interesting if Rodgers comes back. Does McCarthy cut the reliable back up, the QB he proclaimed his love for ever since he got here, or the third round pick.
Lmao! 98% of the commentators in this thread think they are smarter than people that do this for a living. Take a chill pill and come back and comment here in 1 year.
People who actually watch college football…
Who is better…Drew Allar or Will Howard and why?
Well I can’t think of any penn state qb whoever made a big splash in the nfl. Ohio state has a history of state qbs in the nfl. Howard led OSU to the national title. Both have similar body types. Allah may have the stronger arm. But Howard has the experience in big games. Allah is inconsistent.
Im not saying who’s better,but Howard knows the steelers system. And who knows if either is the future. But id place my bet on Howard.
I do all my scouting on the 30 seconds of clips they show after a guy is drafted.
I liked Howard’s 30 seconds a bit more than Allar’s, but thought both were somewhat intriguing. I’ve seen a bunch of QB’s drafted ahead of them (like Simpson) who seem no better or not as good.
It was a reach to take him that early. That’s not saying he won’t develop over time, but he’s definitely a project QB. He looked terribly disappointed to go to Pittsburgh.
Like I said in a previous post,they should of taken Garrett Nussmeier. Probably the best ready nfl qb besides Mendoza
Allar just might be a starter one day but way too early to draft him, considering Nussmeier lasts until Round 7 to the Chiefs!