Without knowing if Aaron Rodgers is playing another season or not, it’s understandable that the Pittsburgh Steelers used a third-round draft pick on Drew Allar. But analyst Trevor Sikkema isn’t sure Allar is the right fit for the Steelers. Especially with Will Howard already in the building.
“Drew Allar for the Pittsburgh Steelers, sure, it’s nice. Little bit of a homecoming with him playing at Penn State, now getting drafted by the Steelers. I like Will Howard better. So you already had a better quarterback on the roster. In my opinion,” Sikkema said Thursday on the Check The Mic podcast.
There are some key differences between the two. One could certainly make the argument that Will Howard has a higher floor. He did have one late-game brain cramp in his final season, accidentally running the clock out in a loss to Oregon. But he rebounded, playing well in big games down the stretch, and leading Ohio State to a national championship. Howard, during his lone season at Ohio State, certainly came through in the clutch more than Allar did at Penn State.
However, the amount of talent those two had around them is worth considering. During Howard’s final year, he was throwing the ball to an extremely talented receiving corps, consisting of Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate. The latter two were each first-round picks in their respective draft classes, and Smith will be one in 2027. Not to mention TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins in the backfield.
Allar simply didn’t have the same weaponry at Penn State. His top three receivers in 2025 were Trebor Pena, Devonte Ross and Kyron Hudson, a level of talent that isn’t remotely comparable to that 2024 Ohio State team. That doesn’t gloss over Allar’s faults. His mechanics and late-game decision making each had plenty of problems. But it’s not like he had three first-round receiving talents like Howard did.
While Howard’s floor may be higher, Allar’s ceiling tops his. If you’re going to take a chance on a quarterback in the third round, Allar’s traits make a lot of sense. He has the physical build of an AFC North quarterback, and some jaw-dropping arm talent to go along with it. There’s a long way to go until he’s a successful starting quarterback at the NFL level. But if he puts it all together, he could be one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.
That said, we are talking about players taken in the third and sixth rounds. The odds of either of them developing into a true franchise quarterback aren’t especially high. But Sikkema thinks the Steelers drafting Allar might be redundant with Howard already in the building.