Since selecting Drew Allar with the 76th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Mike McCarthy and the Pittsburgh Steelers have been clear about taking a long-term view on his development. The idea is to strip away all his bad habits and essentially start from scratch with his mechanics in the hopes of tapping into his gaudy physical tools, presumably by Year 2 or 3 of his NFL career.
James Franklin and his former Penn State staff have drawn some well-deserved criticism regarding their inability to nurture a three-year starter into a pro-ready prospect based on that narrative, and Allar himself has caught some flak as he integrates into the league.
However, one of the harshest indictments of Allar’s place in the developmental arc has come from a Pittsburgh legend, Ben Roethlisberger, whom the Steelers have been helpless to replace since his Hall of Fame career came to an end after the 2021 season.
Ben Roethlisberger is‘ incredibly nervous’ about Drew Allar’s total QB reset
On his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger referenced a video of Allar from rookie minicamp, where he was, unconventionally, the only QB present for the Steelers. Allar is seen slowly maneuvering his way through a three-step drop, part of McCarthy’s plan to build his mechanics up from scratch. Yet, Roethlisberger was still shocked to see that the Steelers had to go that far back.
“McCarthy’s got a great track record of working with young quarterbacks,” Roethlisberger said, addressing the state of the Steelers' offense and Allar’s potential competition with Will Howard to be QB2 behind Aaron Rodgers. “To me, when I’m watching (Allar) do three-step drops, that makes me incredibly nervous. And you might say, ‘Why, they’re refining things?’ There’s a difference between refining things and, like, teaching,” Roethlisberger continued. “When we did football camps, the first thing you’re teaching the youngest kids is how to do a three-step drop.”
Western Pennsylvania native, former Pitt QB, and former Dallas Cowboy under McCarthy, Ben DiNucci defended the clip of Allar and explained the purpose of the drill.
For anyone saying this is terrible / slow footwork you gotta understand the purpose of the drill
— Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci6) May 9, 2026
McCarthy would show us videos in Dallas of Aaron Rodgers doing drops under center almost daily.. exaggerate first step , get out from under center , have a good rhythm in your drop… https://t.co/jlR1CGxJ9B
However, it’s a bit concerning to hear the future Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl Champion’s assessment of the situation run in direct conflict with a career backup. Roethlisberger didn’t go so far as to criticize Allar specifically, and acknowledged that Aaron Rodgers has spoken highly of McCarthy’s “QB school,” which he went through in Green Bay at the beginning of his career. And yet, if Roethlisberger is nervous, plenty of Steelers fans will quickly share that sentiment, and it’s already a fanbase that was split on the Allar selection when it was made outside of Acrisure Stadium in April.
Your individual degree of concern, though, is likely tied to your expectations of Allar. And many of the Penn State fans who watched him develop the bad habit that McCarthy and Pittsburgh are attempting to coach out of him right now, don't have particularly high hopes for his NFL future.
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