We've seen this Drew Allar movie before and Steelers fans won't like the ending

On Thursday night, Drew Allar, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third-string quarterback and third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, dazzled in his NFL preseason debut, completing 10 of his 13 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns with a rushing touchdown for good measure. 

Allar wasn’t as good as advertised after a polarizing four-year career at Penn State; he was better. And his performance seems to have some Steelers fans feeling like they have their quarterback of the future, the heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers after he closes out his Hall of Fame career this season. But as a Penn State fan who rode the Allar roller-coaster for 2.5 seasons, I’m here to offer a word of caution. 

Drew Allar has done this before

Unlike when Allar showed up in the NFL this spring, to a mix of elation and a smattering of boos from the crowd at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, his arrival in Happy Valley was met exclusively by optimism. 

One of the highest-ranked quarterbacks in Penn State history, the 2022 five-star flashed in limited work in 2022 before taking the reins of the program as a sophomore the next year. For a moment in 2023, during the first start of his career, the real introduction to the Nittany Lion fanbase, he was brilliant.

In his first career start, Allar completed 21 of 29 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-15 win over West Virginia. Like those most optimistic Steelers fans leaving Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night, the Penn State faithful were convinced they had the answer, that they finally had a guy who could get them over the Ohio State roadblock that had impeded James Franklin for so long. 

Yet, by the time Allar’s career came to an abrupt and unfortunate end in the fourth quarter against Northwestern last fall, it was still arguably the best game of his career. A 17-19, 247-yard, three-touchdown outing in a 49-10 win over Purdue in 2024 is also on that short list, and his late-game heroics against USC that season would have been if it weren’t for the three interceptions he threw to dig himself into that hole. But you get the point. 

Allar didn’t get better after a great start to his career. And he certainly never showcased the brilliance of that West Virginia win or what he displayed in the second half of a preseason game on Thursday night, against real competition. 

In two games against Ohio State, Allar went a combined 30-for-62 (48.2%) for 337 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Penn State lost both. In two games against Oregon, he again went 0-2, though he did throw for 363 yards and five touchdowns, but with three interceptions, one to seal each Penn State loss. He had a similar near-50% completion rate and a game-clinching interception against Notre Dame. I could go on, but you get the picture. 

Drew Allar can still be fixed, but we need more evidence

The plan in Pittsburgh was to draft Allar for his 6-foot-5 frame, plus athleticism and a big arm, then to enroll him in newly hired head coach Mike McCarthy’s famed QB school, which helped turn Rodgers into a multi-time MVP two decades ago. There’s a chance it works. 

Allar’s footwork looked cleaner on Thursday. He had fewer sprays when throwing on the run and was more accurate in general. He was in a system that didn’t ask too much of him and made the throws necessary to set up his receivers for big plays. But let’s be clear, his tape isn’t exactly littered with big-time throws. 

98 of Allar’s 153 passing yards came after the catch on Thursday. He averaged 5.5 air yards per completion and 8.7 air yards overall, including a pass interference penalty that Max Hurleman was able to draw on a fourth down late in the game. 

Allar was accurate and efficient; that’s what Pittsburgh is looking for right now, but he wasn’t dripping with superstar potential, and what good he did is under the caveat that it was the second half of the first preseason game. So, those Ohio State defenses he played were, honestly, better than the competition he was seeing from Green Bay’s fourth-and fifth-stringers. 

McCarthy might fix Allar. I’m not closed off to that possibility at all, but I remember the West Virginia game. And more importantly, I remember all the games that came after it. So, it’ll take a lot more than one half of a preseason game to convince me he’s ready to be an impactful player in the NFL.

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