What can the Steelers learn about Drew Allar during rookie minicamp?
With the Steelers kicking off rookie minicamp, all eyes—or at least, many of them—will be on rookie third-round QB Drew Allar. The highest the team has taken a quarterback outside of Kenny Pickett since Mason Rudolph, he is Mike McCarthy’s guy. At least, he is the first quarterback the Steelers have drafted with him as their head coach, and that’s something.
Outside of tryout players, Drew Allar will be the Steelers’ only quarterback during rookie minicamp. As they still anticipate Aaron Rodger signing, they’ll want to learn as much as possible about Allar now. Not just him, of course, but also Will Howard, the other young quarterback they have on the roster. Now is the time for the coaching staff to evaluate the pair, while the reps are there for the taking.
Of course, there is still Mason Rudolph, and he is new to Mike McCarthy’s system. Out of himself, Drew Allar, and Will Howard, he is the only Steelers quarterback with any experience. In theory, if Rodgers were not to return, he could be the one most likely to start. In other words, it’s not as though he isn’t going to see any reps this summer.
But one of the principal reasons Mike McCarthy is here is because of his reputation for developing quarterbacks. Some reporters have suggested they anticipate light-to-minimal access to the Steelers’ rookie minicamp, but I struggle to imagine we won’t hear details about Drew Allar in one way or another. Even if the external media isn’t there, the team always has its in-house crew, anyway.
If Drew Allar is the Steelers’ future franchise quarterback, we’re not going to learn that in rookie minicamp. That’s hardly even something you can learn during a player’s rookie season, short of taking a team to the Super Bowl, perhaps. But this will be the first time the team has him on the field, and that’s significant. Yes, they had eyes on him at multiple points during the pre-draft process; that’s true enough. Nothing compares, however, to having him on your own grass and running your system. As this is the first opportunity for that, there is at least some weight to it, even if the conclusions are wanting.
The Steelers have a long road ahead of them under Mike McCarthy, along with his cadre of quarterbacks.With seven consecutive postseason losses and no wins in nearly a decade, they are under fire for their repeated playoff failures. While we have seen many changes, none could dream of topping Mike Tomlin resigning.
We’re already deep into the offseason, with free agency and the draft already reshaping rosters. The Steelers, of course, are used to early offseason mode as a team thatloses by the middle of January all the time. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
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