Allar played in only six games due to a broken ankle, and did not do enough to impress NFL scouts to move him up draft boards.
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Allar still ended up in a decent place. He went to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 12th pick of the third round, 76th overall. The Steelers will likely sign Aaron Rodgers at some point this offseason to start in 2026, but as he enters his age-43 season, he could retire after any season.
Whether that answer is Allar remains to be seen. He needs a lot of development to get to the point where he can be trusted as a starter. But the Steelers did use a valuable pick on him. The Steelers will need someone to step in when Rodgers is done. Pittsburgh just drafted Will Howard in the sixth round last year and sold him this offseason, though they clearly aren’t willing to use a pick on Allar, who is a project with some positive traits.
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Allar has NFL size and a good arm, and he also showed some athleticism at Penn State. The problem has been consistency and precision. That was an issue early last season and he didn’t show enough improvement in those areas over his final six games in college.
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The good news as Allar arrives in the NFL is that he has the physical tools to last a while in the league. He has a lot of work to do to refine his game, but he won’t have the same pressure to develop quickly as he would have if he had been a higher pick.
Allar is not the first skilled quarterback to be drafted, with the hope that he will develop his game to match his arm strength and size. He should be given some time to do that in Pittsburgh.