There's a fresh development in the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback room.
As Aaron Rodgers watch potentially carries on into May, the Steelers selected Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in Friday's third round with the 76th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.
The former Nittany Lion joins a QB room that officially includes second-year signal-caller Will Howard and veteran Mason Rudolph.
Allar's selection was announced by Joey Porter Jr., his former teammate in college and his new teammate in the pros. Porter's announcement unsurprisingly drew a buzz from the home crowd.
Following the pick, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport set the scene, reporting the Steelers could be open to dealing Rudolph and underscoring that the club remains confident Rodgers will return to the team, but there is no certainty. Retirement still remains a possibility for the future Hall of Famer.
Aside from a memorable homecoming, Allar could potentially be a QB of the future for Pittsburgh, which has seemingly held out hope that will be Howard's role. In the immediate future, it's arduous to believe Allar will make much of an impact at the start of 2026, though.
Allar's selection closes the book on a collegiate career that once included first-round projections, but ended in heartbreak. Following a stellar 2024 that included a deep run in the College Football Playoff, Penn State had every reason to believe 2025 was its year with Allar existing as the face of the sky-high optimism. It all came crashing down, however, when Allar suffered a broken ankle in a narrow loss to Northwestern at the midpoint of the season, sending the program into a spiral that culminated in the dismissal of coach James Franklin.
A five-star recruit from Medina, Ohio, Allar grew up a Browns fans and authored his most recent football chapter by leaving the Buckeye State for Happy Valley, where he sat behind Sean Clifford in 2022 before beating out Beau Pribula for the starting job in 2023. Allar got off to an incredible start in his sophomore season, throwing an FBS-record 311 passes before his first interception, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. His peak arrived in 2024, a season in which Allar threw for 3,327 yards, a 24-8 TD-INT ratio and added 302 rushing yards and six rushing scores on 96 attempts, propelling a talented Penn State squad to the semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
At 6-foot-5, Allar looks the part of a big-time quarterback with a bright future in the pro game. The product, however, hasn't stacked up. In his two full seasons, the Penn State standout posted strong numbers, throwing for 5,958 yards and 49 touchdowns, and built a reputation for avoiding crushing mistakes, finishing as the third player in FBS history to throw 1,000-plus career passes and fewer than 15 interceptions.
The consistency -- especially in key moments -- has been lacking, however, contributing to a draft profile that included a Day 3 projection.
Instead, he was taken off the board on Day 2 as the fourth overall QB picked behind Fernando Mendoza (No. 1 overall; Raiders), Ty Simpson (No. 13; Rams) and Carson Beck (No. 65; Cardinals).
Allar's addition made plenty of noise on Friday as he entered the biggest question mark of a QB room remaining this offseason. It's likely to be a while down the road before Pittsburgh fans can determine just how pivotal a pick the Penn State quarterback is.
