The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and Pittsburgh put on a show over three days, drawing huge crowds and setting attendance records while putting the city front and center. The Pittsburgh Steelers came in with 12 picks and stayed aggressive, including a Day 2 trade up for Alabama's Germie Bernard that cost them two selections. They still ended up with 10 players across all three days.
But the moment that stood out most came in the third round. Even with three picks in that round, the Steelers used their first third-rounder on Penn State quarterback Drew Allar. Even now, it is hard to make sense of the pick, and it comes off less like a well-thought-out move and more like a decision driven by desperation.
What’s the end goal behind the Drew Allar pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
It’s no secret the Steelers need a franchise quarterback, and at this point, they could be taking as many swings as possible to find one. But the direction still feels murky. If Aaron Rodgers does return for another season, are they really setting up a situation where Will Howard and Allar are left to battle it out the year after, especially with a 2027 draft class that’s expected to be loaded at quarterback?
And if Rodgers doesn’t come back and decides to retire, that only adds more questions. Will Howard seems to have the early edge after taking first-team reps in minicamp and clearly earning some trust from the coaching staff. But he also missed most of last season, didn’t play in the preseason, and was a sixth-round pick. Allar, meanwhile, comes in as a third-round pick with more physical upside, but he’s still very much a long-term project who could take a couple of years to develop.
Neither Howard nor Allar is a sure thing, and both feel like developmental options more than immediate answers. So if the plan is still to target a quarterback in the first round next year, it raises the question of what the real purpose was behind using a third-round pick on Allar instead of addressing a position that could’ve made an instant impact.
Right now, it just feels unclear. There doesn’t seem to be a defined plan as much as an attempt to throw multiple options at the problem and hope something sticks. And based on how the Steelers have handled the quarterback position in recent years, it’s fair to wonder if they’re still trying to figure out what their long-term approach is supposed to be.
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