What does the presence of Drew Allar say about where Will Howard stands with the Steelers?
Even after the Steelers drafted Drew Allar in the third round, Mike McCarthy still found time to praise Will Howard. The second-year former sixth-round pick that McCarthy insists would have been drafted earlier if only he were with a team last year, Howard has had a moment this offseason. That tends to happen, of course, when your head coach says you will be a starter.
But if the Steelers believe so much in Will Howard, why did they draft Drew Allar? This isn’t even some bona fide future franchise quarterback. While he may have had that pre-draft profile years ago, at this point, he is more of a reclamation project. The Steelers drafted him because of his traits, coming off a regressive college career.
In a vacuum, Drew Allar is the more talented quarterback compared to Will Howard. Howard has the more tangible college success, but that’s more in terms of team achievements. Meanwhile, Allar’s former college coaches are actively defending him, faulting their own system. They hope the Steelers do more to cater to who he is as a player, anticipating he’ll flourish if they do.
But is Will Howard now on the proverbial back burner, with Allar taking center stage? Perhaps it’s far too early to make that determination. But while McCarthy may be confident they can evaluate multiple young quarterbacks, the CBA may dictate otherwise. There is only so much access coaches have to players, particularly within a practice setting. And if they can only get a close look at one young quarterback this offseason, wouldn’t it be Allar?
Now, realistically, the odds of either Drew Allar or Will Howard becoming the Steelers’ franchise quarterback are low. One of them might start for a while, or perhaps even both at different times. It’s relatively rare, however, for quarterbacks of this sort to emerge as a sort of generational player.
Or at least a player of his era. A lot of teams go a long time between their franchise quarterbacks—if they’re lucky to ever have one. Pittsburgh is already several years removed from Ben Roethlisberger. And no matter how much he pulls for Will Howard, he can’t will excellence from him into existence.
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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