All eyes have been on third-round rookie quarterback Drew Allar so far in training camp. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to take the former Penn State quarterback back in April came with some mixed feelings from fans. Many people are high on Will Howard, even though he hasn’t taken a single preseason snap yet, while plenty of people in Pittsburgh have also watched Allar play throughout his college career and know he still has plenty to develop.
Then there’s the 2027 quarterback class, which is already expected to be loaded with talent. So why take a quarterback in the third round this year if the Steelers could potentially draft another one in the first round next year?
The simple answer is that the Steelers desperately need to find their next franchise quarterback. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, Pittsburgh has been searching for that long-term answer. At the time of the draft, Aaron Rodgers still hadn’t decided whether he was coming back, which made the quarterback situation even more uncertain.
The Steelers need to find their next franchise quarterback, and taking as many swings as possible to try and find that guy isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With Mike McCarthy now running the show, Pittsburgh also has a head coach who has made developing quarterbacks one of his strengths. Allar is another project and another chance to see if the Steelers can develop a quarterback into their next long-term starter without having to spend a first-round pick on one.
Allar probably won’t see the field much, if at all, this season. That was always going to be the case for a quarterback viewed as a developmental prospect. But hearing what quarterbacks coach Tom Arth had to say about the rookie is certainly encouraging, especially this early in Allar’s development.
Tom Arth’s praise of Drew Allar hints at a rookie progressing faster than expected
It’s hard to deny the arm talent and physical tools Drew Allar has. Those traits are a big reason why the Steelers found him to be such an intriguing prospect coming into the draft. But when it came to the rest of playing quarterback, it was clear Allar still had a lot of work to do.
That’s why during minicamp this spring, the coaching staff wanted to completely rebuild Allar’s mechanics from the ground up. The idea was to strip things back and build a professional foundation, starting with the basics and working their way up. That meant focusing on everything from his footwork to his drop and eventually his throwing mechanics.
After hearing how much work Allar needed to do, it seemed like his development could take multiple years. But based on what quarterbacks coach Tom Arth said recently, that process is moving along much faster than the Steelers originally expected, according to Tim Benz.
Arth has been impressed with how quickly Allar has been able to make the necessary adjustments and how comfortable he already looks with the changes.
“I’ve been just so impressed with how quickly Drew has improved from a fundamental standpoint. You never would expect someone to be able to adjust so quickly and adapt so easily to what we’re asking of him. And I think he’s found a really great rhythm in his drop. I think he’s trusting his feet, he’s playing on time, he’s playing in balance, he’s playing with his cleats in the ground, and those were really the biggest areas of focus for us after we drafted him.
That was really the emphasis that we made to say, ‘Hey, let’s really help Drew from a fundamental standpoint, starting with his feet, and if we can do that, I think we got a pretty good player.’ I think it’s shown up. I think he’s playing really well. He’s had some great moments, for sure, and obviously areas, moments where he can be better and that he’s learning through.”
Obviously, none of this means much until the preseason starts Thursday, when the Steelers will finally get to see Allar in a real game. He’s expected to play the second half against the Packers, giving him two quarters to show whether the progress we’ve seen throughout training camp can carry over against an opposing defense.
That’s really what makes Thursday so important for Allar. He’ll finally get a chance to show if the praise he’s received from the coaching staff is justified or if there’s still a long way to go in his development.
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