Wednesday was the final day for NFL teams to meet with prospects for pre-draft visits, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were determined to leave no stone unturned. As general manager Omar Khan wrapped up the team's pre-draft visit list, they met with one more polarizing quarterback prospect ahead ot he 2026 NFL Draft.
On Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the Steelers are visiting with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar. This is a name that is all too familiar to Steelers fans, as Allar—a former five-star recruit and No. 1 QB recruit in the nation in 2022—never lived up to the hype during his college career.
Unfortunately, the visit with Allar means that the Steelers missed out on meeting with potential first-round receiver prospects like Jordyn Tyson, Omar Cooper Jr., and KC Concepcion.
Pittsburgh's brass previously met with Allar at the NFL Combine. This last-ditch Steelers pre-draft visit makes one thing obvious: the Steelers will look to select a quarterback in the mid-rounds of the draft.
Drew Allar pre-draft visit confirms that the Pittsburgh Steelers will look to draft a mid-round QB in 2026
Obviously, the Steelers wasted no time meeting with Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (as he's already a lock for the top pick in the draft), while the team interestingly didn't express much interest in Ty Simpson throughout the pre-draft process. However, they met with a cluster of quarterbacks projected to be drafted in the third-to-fourth round... and that's where this team is headed during the draft.
Before this 30-visit with Allar, the Steelers hosted Miami's Carson Beck, North Dakota State's Cole Payton, and Arkansas Taylen Green for pre-draft visits. While they didn't host LSU's Garrett Nussmeier for a pre-draft visit, head coach Mike McCarthy is very familiar with the undersized QB, as his father, Doug Nussmeier, was his quarterback coach for three years during his time with the Dallas Cowboys.
By no means do these meetings suggest that the Steelers will take a quarterback early in the draft. Their big swing could come in the 2027 NFL Draft, when there's expected to be a richer crop of talent.
However, it's clear that the Steelers want to take a quarterback in the mid-rounds of the 2026 draft. This looming signal-caller would join 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard in the quarterback room, as the team still awaits a decision from veteran Aaron Rodgers.
There's no guarantee Rodgers returns this season, but even if he does, Pittsburgh needs a youth infusion at the position. Based on their pre-draft visitor list, expect them to look for a quarterback with one of their third or fourth-round picks next week in the NFL Draft.
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