Drew Allar started 35 games during his college career at Penn State. Yet, the former five-star was viewed as one of the most raw quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite his experience, Allar’s footwork and throwing mechanics have been major question marks, and will be the main focus for the Pittsburgh Steelers after they selected him in the third round.
Allar arrived at his first rookie mini-camp, and unexpectedly, he was the only quarterback there. Typically, a team will have at least two rookie QBs at camp, if for no other reason than to alleviate some of the burden of handling every rep, but Mike McCarthy and the Steelers threw Allar right into the deep end.
“We pushed him. To go 35 snaps in a team drill, that's pushing it, but he handled it.” McCarthy told reporters at the Steelers' rookie mini-camp. “If your quarterback can't handle it, then you don't get to go to the speed and the tempo and the pre-snap that we were able to go. I thought Drew did a hell of a job.”
Mike McCarthy gave Drew Allar every QB rep at rookie mini-camp
The Steelers have been clear that they want to tear Allar’s mechanics down to the studs and rebuild them at an NFL level. That’s quite the referendum on Penn State’s coaching staff under James Franklin, with Andy Kotelnicki at offensive coordinator and Danny O’Brien as his quarterbacks coach. It’s also, though, a troubling assessment of Allar himself.
Allar came into college with all the physical tools to be a superstar quarterback with prototypical size and a cannon for an arm. Yet, it never came together to produce elite results, even during Penn State’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinal. Now, he’s entering the NFL with all the physical tools to be a franchise QB, and all the same questions.
Maybe the coaching staff at Penn State failed Allar. Or maybe with his long levers at 6-foot-5, he’ll never be able to get his mechanics to a place where he is consistently accurate throwing the ball. McCarthy and the Steelers intend to find out that answer, and while it’s a bad look for Penn State’s former staff, they’re handling Allar’s development the right way, giving him every opportunity to succeed in the NFL.
As McCarthy stated, Allar handled the mental aspect of the position during rookie mini-camp. That’s to be expected for somebody with his amount of experience. The additional reps should help the physical parts of his game come along, and maybe give him a chance to finally live up to his potential.
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