NFL.com's draft analyst Chad Reuter released his latest mock draft on Friday, March 20. While Penn State football wasn't absent from his four-round mock, Reuter left two former Nittany Lions off his list.
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The no-brainer first-rounder from Penn State is still offensive guard Olaivavega Ioane, who Reuter has the Baltimore Ravens drafting 14th overall on night one. Baltimore is the leading favorite for Ioane, though the New York Jets have interest in the former Nittany Lion starter.
"Ioane will be a dominant force in the run game for the Ravens and he is a sturdy pass protector," Reuter explained. "Pairing him with free-agent acquisition John Simpson gives Baltimore a nice guard duo."
After Ioane, though, Reuter does not anticipate a Penn State product getting selected until early in the third-round. A complete absence from round two is notable, but in comparison to how deep some of these position groups go, the Nittany Lions' 2025 season hurt a lot of the players' chances in being higher-round draft picks.
Edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton is up next in Reuter's mock draft. At No. 60 overall, the draft analyst has Dennis-Sutton going to the Houston Texans in a pick acquired from the New York Giants. This is the fifth pick of round three. Ten picks later, running back Kaytron Allen was mocked to the Atlanta Falcons 79th overall.
Finally, wrapping up Reuter's mock draft in round four, three former Penn Staters made the cut: defensive tackle Zane Durant at No. 102 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, safety Zakee Wheatley at No. 113 overall to the Indianapolis Colts, and running back Nicholas Singleton at No. 131 overall to the New England Patriots.
Missing entirely from this list: quarterback Drew Allar.
Chad Reuter's four-round mock draft leaves out Penn State quarterback Drew Allar
Allar was anticipated to be a late-round draft pick. A fifth, sixth, or seventh round selection for the former Nittany Lion is not a shock. However, given six former teammates of his earned a spot on Reuter's list, even if they're in the back half of the draft, is noteworthy.
Allar is a developing quarterback, soemthing that could have been avoided if the Nittany Lions coached him into a true five-star prospect he came into Happy Valley as. With that being said, not many NFL teams are in need of a quarterback that isn't ready to step out on the field. If they are, free agency is where many picked up their backups or depth pieces.
A late-round pick on Allar is a security blanket for whatever team picks him up. It's not a deep quarterback class to begin with, meaning once the top prospects get picked, Allar's the next one to go to whatever team might be in need of a quarterback for years to come.