Steelers pull QB plot twist while waiting on Aaron Rogers. Enter Drew Allar | Opinion
After drafting Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of the NFL draft, the Steelers are loaded with potential Aaron Rodgers understudies.
Here’s to the Quarterback Competition of the Future. Maybe. Sure, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have the present matter to deal with as they wait on definitive word from Aaron Rodgers about whether he’ll return for a 22nd NFL season.
Yet in drafting Penn State’s Drew Allar with a third-round pick on Friday night – a year after onboarding former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard with a fourth-round pick – the Steelers are loaded with potential A-Rod understudies. Hey, you can never have enough quarterbacks, right? Well, yes and no.
If you don’t have THE quarterback, you don’t have A quarterback. 2026 NFL Draft Round 2 and 3 grades: Analysis for every pick In the meantime, Allar can hop on the learning curve alongside Howard as they try to prove themselves as viable options to cut it in the NFL. It’s quite the plot twist for a franchise held up by the drama surrounding Rodgers and the possibility that he might retire rather than reunite with Mike McCarthy and run it back for another shot at glory.
Allar, picked 76th overall, has attractive size and arm strength, yet his inconsistency has raised eyebrows. Then his senior season was cut short in October by a broken ankle. Now he’s a project for McCarthy, the new Steelers coach, whose track record for developing quarterbacks includes his work with Dak Prescott, Aaron Brooks and, well, Rodgers.