It's one thing to have high expectations for a rookie quarterback in his first preseason action; it's another thing entirely to witness what we just saw from Drew Allar in his exhibition debut against the Green Bay Packers. The No. 76 overall pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2026 NFL Draft didn't just match expectations; he blew everyone out of the water.
Allar kicked off his rookie preseason by rifling a pass over the middle of the field to fourth-round pick Kaden Wetjen, who proceeded to burn up the field for a 74-yard play. Two plays later, Allar punched in a three-yard rushing touchdown. This capped off a five-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.
But his impressive preseason performance was only starting to take off.
On the next series, Allar marched the offense down the field for a 10-play, 89-yard touchdown drive, capped off with a passing score to Wetjen. Then, with just 1:46 remaining in the game, Allar recorded another touchdown pass to rookie Riley Nowakowski.
By the end of the game, Allar recorded 10 completions on 13 pass attempts for 153 yards (11.8 yards per pass attempt) with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. All of this equated to a remarkable (and nearly perfect) 154.8 passer rating, per ESPN box score stats.
The Pittsburgh Steelers might have something special in QB Drew Allar after his preseason debut
We don't want to get too worked up over a single preseason performance. After all, it wasn't long ago that 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett had a perfect passer rating throughout the preseason.
Having said that, Allar showed everything we could have hoped for and more.
From the willingness to hang tough in the pocket to the aggressiveness to routinely sling the ball over the middle of the field to driving the ball into tight windows, Allar made one NFL-caliber play after the next. And fans have a right to be excited.
On Allar's performance, one fan on X wrote, "I'm pressed 'af'." Another wrote, "Nah I think Josh Allen is actually Drew Allar."
The rookie quarterback did more than just get the fanbase on their feet; he gave the Steelers hope of a future at quarterback—something they haven't truly had in a long time.
Obviously, we need to pump the brakes a bit. We know that the 22-year-old quarterback is going to have his struggles, and it's entirely possible that he plummets back down to earth in his second preseason game. However, after watching one dismal offensive performance after the next, we have every right to get excited about Allar—a 6'5'' quarterback with a rocket arm.
Allar's tools were on full display against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night in the 28-9 preseason victory, and there's no reason to suggest he can't be a potential starting quarterback for this team if he keeps this up.
Add us as a preferred source on Google