When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the expectation was it was a long-term bet from first-year head coach Mike McCarthy, who handpicked the big, strong quarterback to try and develop.
Ideally, Allar is the Steelers’ QB3 in 2026 behind Aaron Rodgers and one of Mason Rudolph or second-year pro Will Howard. He still needs a lot of work with his footwork, mechanics, and decision making.
However, if Allar has to see the field for some reason in 2026, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson believes he will be stepping into a strong situation in Pittsburgh.
“Drew Allar may have landed in the best possible place to maximize his abilities,” Wilson writes. “In reality, the Steelers would love for Allar to spend most of 2026 learning, developing and adjusting to NFL speed. But let’s assume circumstances force him onto the field. If that happens, he’ll step into one of the most quarterback-friendly situations in the league for a rookie.
“Few coaches have more experience developing quarterbacks with high-end traits. McCarthy has spent years working with passers who could create outside structure without descending into chaos. That’s important because Allar’s profile may be one of the most complicated in this class.”
Allar’s profile is indeed complicated. He has all the tools that signal a future star quarterback and a clear franchise guy. He was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school, too, and started a ton of games for the Nittany Lions.
However, he never consistently put it together. Late in the 2024 season he threw the backbreaking interception against Notre Dame that ended Penn State’s season in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
After returning to school in 2025, Allar had the game-ending interception against Oregon in a primetime matchup in Happy Valley. That turnover led to a downward spiral for the program, which saw head coach James Franklin fired a few weeks later while Allar was lost for the season to a broken ankle.
Despite some of those flaws, the size, the arm strength, the athleticism — they’re all tantalizing with Allar.
He just needs the right coaching and the right system. Terry Smith, Penn State’s interim coach after Franklin got fired, admitted the Nittany Lions’ scheme wasn’t tailored around Allar’s strengths, which led to some of the struggles, especially in 2025. He needs to be able to push the ball down the field, take advance of his arm strength, and play in a structured, pro-style offense.
He’ll get that in Pittsburgh. Working under McCarthy could unlock him long term. Wilson believes that now more than he did coming out of the draft.
“If the Steelers get the version of Allar that trusts his eyes, plays on time and takes the easy completions, this could end up looking like one of the best QB-team fits in the class,” Wilson said. “If the old habits show up, the learning curve could be steeper than the raw offensive-line numbers suggest, and we’ll be talking about why he was overdrafted in Round 3.”
It’s fair to say Allar is a real boom-or-bust prospect. If he hits, look out.
If not, well, it won’t be all that big of a surprise to many.
