The Pittsburgh Steelers finally took a swing at a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. With the No. 76 pick in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Steelers general manager turned his card in for Penn State's Drew Allar.
This selection was met with a mixed bag of emotions. Allar, a former No. 1 quarterback recruit coming out of high school, has excellent size and tools. However, his performance has declined each season with the Nittany Lions.
What's worse is the reach against the consensus board.
Allar was the 114th-ranked player on Marcus Mosher's NFL Draft Expert Consensus Board, so taking the polarizing QB with the No. 76 pick was a questionable decision at best. With two third round picks and a fourth-round pick still on the dock, the Steelers could have waited to take their QB swing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a colossal draft reach for Penn State QB Drew Allar
I understand what the Steelers are trying to do. This team has one of the worst quarterback situations in the league, and there is no guarantee that Aaron Rodgers will return for a final season in 2026. However, Allar is coming off a discouraging season in 2025, and many draft experts believe he should have been drafted closer to the fifth round than the third.
Pick No. 76 was the selection acquired in the George Pickens trade with the Dallas Cowboys, which makes this selection sting even worse. Pickens is fresh off a 1,400-yard season and Pro Bowl campaign during his age-24 season in Dallas, while Allar is a boom-or-bust developmental QB prospect coming off a bad season.
There's no getting around it; this was a desperation move.
The hope now is that Mike McCarthy and quarterback coach Tom Arth can get something out of Allar that Penn State's coaching staff couldn't. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee of that happening.
Allar followed in a similar path to Miami Dolphins quarterback and former Texas QB Quinn Ewers. Both were high-profile QBs and high recruits coming out of college who never lived up to the hype.
Allar will now join a quarterback room that currently consists of veteran Mason Rudolph and 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard. Allar will likely begin his Steelers career as the QB3 during his rookie season.
Drew Allar has enough tools to get excited about, but this pick felt way too early. The Pittsburgh Steelers clearly like Allar, and after their lack of aggressiveness to secure Makai Lemon in Round 1, they didn't want the Penn State product slipping away from them before their next third-round pick at No. 85 overall.
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