It’s hard to find a true franchise quarterback, and if you don’t have one, it’s hard to be a legit Super Bowl contender in the NFL.
No matter where you find one, it can be a transformational moment for any team in the league, whether it’s a No. 1 overall pick like Caleb Williams, a No. 32 overall pick like Lamar Jackson, or the last pick in the entire draft like Brock Purdy.
That’s why the Pittsburgh Steelers took a swing on Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, hoping they can be the place where his promising physical traits can finally translate into consistent on-field success.
From the moment he set foot on campus in Happy Valley, Allar was tabbed as a potential No. 1 overall pick, thanks to an impressive blend of size, athleticism, and arm talent. But while there were flashes of that high-end potential throughout his tenure with the Nittany Lions, they were always too few and far in between. Allar’s college career was marked by inconsistency when it came to the finer points of playing the game’s most important position (accuracy, ball placement, decision-making, anticipation), and he could never put it all together for any significant length of time.
Allar’s final collegiate season came to an early halt with a season-ending leg injury in 2025, and combined with his lack of consistency when he was healthy, he went from potential first-round talent to mid-round question mark.
Armed with a trio of third-round picks, the Steelers took advantage of that luxury and spent one of them (No. 76 overall) on Allar, taking a swing on those physical tools and the possibility that he could still eventually reach his lofty ceiling in the right situation.
Out of the gate, Allar impressed in his preseason debut for the Steelers, completing 10 of his 13 pass attempts for 153 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, adding another score on the ground in a 28-9 win over the Green Bay Packers:
His follow-up performance was far less inspiring, as Allar went 11-for-23 for 110 yards and no touchdowns of any kind in Friday night’s 17-0 loss to the New York Jets. But even with a more lackluster box score the second time around, Allar provided more glimpses of the potential he brings to the table:
Those are the moments that will get Steelers fans excited about the future possibility of Allar developing into a franchise passer, but that was always the story throughout his entire time at Penn State. And for every one of those plays, there was a missed read, an overthrow, a turnover in a clutch situation, or anything else other than consistent, efficient play, let alone highlight-reel plays like this on a regular basis.
The job now is for Allar to prove he can still become the best version of himself, and for the Steelers to prove that Pittsburgh is the place where he can reach that ceiling.
He’ll have the benefit of an experienced offensive mind in head coach Mike McCarthy, as well as the presence of a future first-ballot Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers, who is one of the best to ever play the position in the history of the game. McCarthy has his issues as a play-caller with a somewhat outdated scheme, and Allar won’t magically inherit Rodgers’ surgical precision, but being around both shouldn’t do anything but help his chances of growing and developing into a successful passer down the road.
The rest of the supporting case features plenty of playmakers at the skill positions, but Allar’s chances of developing into an effective starter will also hing on the Steelers’ ability to build a reliable offensive line in front of him. That’s been a struggle in recent years, and it’ll have to change if Pittsburgh wants Allar’s career in the Black and Gold to have a better ending than his time at Penn State.
As was the case in college, Allar has all the talent he needs to be a worthy long-term successor to Rodgers, but both team and player will have to prove they can accomplish things in the future that the past few years proven to be an insurmountable challenge.
In a perfect world, Allar spends a year learning from Rodgers, and the Steelers put together a strong unit in the trenches that allows him to take full advantage of his skill set at the talent around him. But Pittsburgh fans will have to see it to believe it.
