The Pittsburgh Steelers expressed a great deal of confidence in Drew Allar when they made the Penn State quarterback the No. 76 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Based on the young quarterback's performance over the past two seasons, it was assumed that he would slip to Day 3 of the draft and project only as a backup at the next level.
But Mike McCarthy and the Steelers' coaching staff doesn't see it that way.
On Thursday, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler released an article sharing tidbits from scouts, coaches, and NFL executives on all 32 teams after the NFL Draft. According to Fowler, a team source said McCarthy and the Steelers are already drawing Joe Flacco comparisons to his new quarterback.
"With third-round quarterback Drew Allar, the Steelers are betting big on coach Mike McCarthy's quarterback development to fix Allar's footwork. "He's really got a good feel for what that takes," a team source said of McCarthy's touch in this area. Pittsburgh believes Allar has similar arm talent to a young Joe Flacco."
While Flacco often has a negative stigma attached to his name as an average starting-level quarterback, this is actually high praise for Allar, a third-round pick. Flacco was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, and he's prepping for his 19th NFL season after earning his first Pro Bowl honors in 2025 (though we can debate whether he was deserving of such a title.
The height of Flacco's career was being named MVP of Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 after a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Allar has a long way to go to fill these shoes, but the comparison does make some sense.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Drew Allar shares similarities with Joe Flacco
We need to put an instant haul to the Josh Allen comps for Allar. Though Allar is a big-bodied quarterback with impressive arm strength, that's about where the comparisons end. In fact, he's probably closer to Mason Rudolph than to Allen.
Because of that, Flacco is a respectable high-end comp, and the team believes he could offer something similar. It's not impossible to understand why.
At 6'5'' and 228 pounds with 32 3/4'' arms and nearly 10'' hands, Allar looks the part as a quarterback who can stand in the pocket and make throws that can cut through the wind and cold in AFC North football late in the season. Flacco was even bigger at 6'7'' and 236 pounds, but the point remains. If Allar can find a way to start at some point for the Steelers, he would be among the biggest starting QBs in today's NFL.
Though Allar took off and ran with the football 224 times during his four-year career at Penn State, this isn't really his forte. Allar managed just 3.3 yards per carry when he took off to run, though his big frame aided him to 12 rushing touchdowns.
Allar is at least a respectable athlete, but he's not going to be an elite rusher at the next level. While he didn't do any athletic testing at the NFL Combine or his Pro Day, the former No. 1 quarterback recruit had a projected 40 time of 4.78 seconds, per DraftScout.
It's clear that McCarthy and the coaching staff hold Drew Allar in high regard while also keeping expectations somewhat reasonable for his NFL ceiling. Pittsburgh Steelers fans would love it if Allar can turn out to be better than Joe Flacco, but as a third-round pick, sign me up for this.
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