Between Drew Allar and Will Howard, the Steelers want to develop two young quarterbacks as their potential future. But does one have the lead? Howard is a second-year player, drafted in the sixth round a year ago. The Steelers used a third-round pick on Allar, a higher-ceiling prospect with a lower floor. Neither should play this season, but one could be in the conversation to start as early as 2027.
Does anything about how the offseason has transpired thus far tell us about the future of Howar or Allar? Steelers HC Mike McCarthy has stripped Allar down and put him through his paces, a part of his “QB School”. At the same time, observers have come away impressed with the growth Howard has displayed this offseason. He has worked ahead of the other quarterbacks this spring, short of Aaron Rodgers when he participated.
“As for ‘having a leg up’ there must be some kind of order when it comes to taking the field during practices because it’s efficient, but don’t take that to mean there already is a favorite”, Bob Labriola wrote for the Steelers’ website in response to a question about the competition for the future between Will Howard and Drew Allar. “Training camp is going to be very interesting this summer when it comes to that position, and the preseason games will really bring the picture into focus”.
The thing is, time is short as it concerns 2027, as least as far as this season is concerned. Labriola also said in his answer that the Steelers are moving into 2026 expecting to compete and win with Rodgers. That means Howard and Allar will take a back seat as the focus shifts to the starters and winning football games.
So at this point, all that’s left is training camp and the preseason. And this is where Drew Allar starts to catch up with Will Howard, who missed most of camp and all of the preseason. As a rookie he suffered a hand injury shortly before the first game. He spent the bulk of the year on IR, though he did return to participate in practice late in the year.
Once the Steelers return from Latrobe in August, though, the bulk of the evaluation process will be over. Aaron Rodgers will be the focus, and even the backup will see reduced action. That isn’t likely to be Drew Allar, but Will Howard isn’t guaranteed the job, either. It’s possible that neither of them see much in-season work, which would push this conversation well into next offseason.
The Steelers need their quarterback of the future—at some point. They don’t need to know who it is now, nor do they have the ability to find out. Howard should be ahead of Allar, at least at some level. But training camp will be more indicative of how they intend to evaluate. Because they know this is their time to see what they have before they need to make a decision. Both should get plenty of time in the preseason. But who will have the edge for the future, and when will we know? Will we even know at all this year? Will the Steelers?
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