Drew Allar Mason Rudolph
Drew Allar Mason Rudolph
Drew Allar is the talk of the town after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first preseason game. He helped the team beat the Green Bay Packers 28-9, and he looked good doing it.
Allar completed 10 of his 13 pass attempts for 153 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a touchdown. That strong showing has former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson thinking Allar can overtake Mason Rudolph for Pittsburgh’s backup quarterback job.
“Based on the small sample size we saw from Drew Allar, he looked extremely good,” Johnson said recently on his Nightcap podcast. “Mason Rudolph, eh. He’s been in the league eight, nine years. He is what he is. Based off what I saw tonight, at some point, probably after the second preseason game, I’m sure Drew Allar, if he has another performance like he did tonight, he will probably be the backup…
“No disrespect to Mason Rudolph, but he is who he is at this point. We’ve seen him multiple times when he’s had an opportunity to start. He’s not the answer, especially one to be the successor of Aaron Rodgers.”
It’s okay to be excited about Allar. He has all the physical tools to be a good NFL player, including a cannon for an arm. There was talk about him being a first-round pick before a rough end to his college career hurt his stock. Allar has the potential to be the answer for the Steelers under center.
However, it’s way too early to say anything definitive about him. He hasn’t even played in a full game. Allar has one half of preseason action under his belt in the NFL. Yes, he played well, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready for an increased role as a rookie.
Plenty of young quarterbacks have played well in the preseason only to fall flat on their faces in the regular season. Steelers fans should know that. Kenny Pickett looked dominant in the 2023 preseason. The Steelers’ offense looked unstoppable with him under center. It looked like the Steelers had their next franchise quarterback.
However, Pickett followed that up with an ugly Week 1 performance against the San Francisco 49ers, throwing for 232 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 30-7 loss.
Allar isn’t Pickett. They’re different players. However, Pickett is a good example to temper the hype around young quarterbacks in the preseason. Bumping Allar up to backup quarterback after only one good preseason game is a little much.
Is Rudolph particularly impressive? No, but he’s got regular season experience. The Steelers have won games with him in the past. They want to compete for a Super Bowl this year. If Rodgers misses any time, it’s more likely that Rudolph will keep the ship afloat than Allar. The rookie has a much higher ceiling than Rudolph but rushing his development could be a mistake.