In a quarterback class in the 2026 NFL Draft that didn’t have many big names or true franchise-level signal callers, one who stood out as worth taking a flier on was Penn State’s Drew Allar.
Despite having all the traits teams look for in those franchise QBs with a big, strong arm, great size, and good pocket presence, Allar just never quite put it all together with the Nittany Lions. That didn’t stop the Pittsburgh Steelers under first-year head coach Mike McCarthy from taking a chance on him.
The Steelers drafted Allar in the third round at No. 76 overall, banking on McCarthy’s ability to develop the quarterback position and believing in Allar’s traits shining through, too.
For longtime NFL analyst Greg Cosell, who appeared on the Ross Tucker Podcast Thursday, Allar is a “fascinating guy” at the QB position because of those traits.
“There’s a lot of people who believe Mike McCarthy is really good at developing quarterbacks. Obviously, I don’t know that I’ve not, I’ve not been around him watching him coach quarterbacks, but Drew Allar is a fascinating guy…let’s face it: this guy has big time throwing ability in terms of he can throw it anywhere on the field,” Cosell said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “I’ve watched him since 2023, and there are some throws he makes that you just go, ‘wow.’
“Those are just throws that not everybody makes the way he can make them.”
“Drew Allar is a FASCINATING guy…”
“There are some throws he makes that you just go, WOW… watching the Penn State offense with the new coordinator, I didn't think that really enhanced what Allar is…”@GregCosell breaks down the Steelers’ new quarterback: pic.twitter.com/4CoBx4PFha
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) May 7, 2026
There is no denying Allar’s arm talent. Though Penn State didn’t really utilize him properly, as coach Terry Smith stated shortly after the Steelers drafted Allar, he showed off that arm talent throughout his tenure in Happy Valley. It was just too far and few between due to how the offense was built.
But man, when he let throws rip, he made some jaw-dropping plays.
This throw against Oregon in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game still stands out to me. Off balance and under pressure, Allar still has the arm talent to rip this throw over the middle for a score.
Despite having some of those flashes where it leaves guys like Cosell saying “Wow!” Allar was a perplexing quarterback. He came up very small in big games, his accuracy and mechanics were hit or miss throw to throw, let alone game to game, and his confidence waned at times.
“He’s a hard guy to figure out. Look, I never rip coaches and you know that, but I felt like watching the Penn State offense with the new coordinator, just…I didn’t think that that really enhanced what Allar is,” Cosell said. “And Allar is…you wanna have an offense that allows him to drop back and drive the ball down the field because he’s got a big arm. He’s six-five, he’s 240 [pounds] To be cliche, he’s a high-level arm talent. He’s got great size. He can make throws from multiple platforms.
“You didn’t see a lot of that at Penn State. That’s not the way they played.”
That wasn’t the way Penn State played, and that was a detriment to Allar’s development. He made the right decision to return to school in 2025, but things fell apart in a major way for the Nittany Lions. It ended with James Franklin being fired and Allar suffering a season-ending leg injury against Northwestern.
While Allar still took care of the football at a high level once again, in the biggest game of the year against Oregon in Happy Valley, he threw a game-ending interception in overtime on a bad read, which drummed up those negative feelings about him as an NFL quarterback.
But now, he’s in a good landing spot with McCarthy. The tools are all there to work with. It’s all about finding consistency for Allar. If he does, those “Wow!” moments will become more of the usual for Allar, rather than the rarity.
And if that occurs, the Steelers might have struck gold with a third-round pick.
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