When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted QB Drew Allar with the No. 76 overall pick, they did so betting on what he could become, not what he already is. According to The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo, the growing pains are apparent at early OTA practices.

“This is a guy who’s not ready to play at the NFL level,” DeFabo said on 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show. “They need to do considerable work with some of his mechanics, specifically his lower half and his footwork…I’ve seen Drew Allar throw a handful of passes, but a lot of those were inaccurate passes. He’s not, to me, looked great. He’s looked like a guy that is 6-5 and has 10-inch hands and has an unbelievable arm but also needs a lot of work.”

Allar’s early struggles aren’t a big surprise as Mike McCarthy and the offensive staff are going back to the basics and teaching him new mechanics from the ground up. McCarthy even told him not to focus on the individual outcomes of plays right now. That part will eventually take care of itself once the fundamentals get cleaned up over time.

Make no mistake that Allar is a project. He’s not ready to start a game at the NFL level. So what does that mean for the Steelers’ QB depth chart? Unless McCarthy does something unorthodox, they aren’t keeping four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. They aren’t going to cut the No. 76 overall pick, so who gets squeezed out?

Mason Rudolph brings the only other NFL experience behind Aaron Rodgers, but the Steelers seem to like Will Howard’s potential. McCarthy spent most of the offseason talking up Howard, so it would be very odd to kick him to the curb before they get a real look at his potential.

In contrast to DeFabo’s Allar report, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s top beat writers agreed that Will Howard has looked “sharp” in the early practices. Howard is also learning McCarthy’s system and emphasis on fundamentals, but he enters Year 2 with the benefit of spending a year around Aaron Rodgers — McCarthy’s top protege.

A lot can happen between now and roster cutdowns. Somebody could get injured and take a trip to IR. And minor injuries can be used as an excuse to stash a player on IR to delay a decision. But if all four QBs are completely healthy, it’s hard to see any other route than Rudolph being the odd man out.

In many ways, DeFabo’s observations are exactly why Allar lasted until the third round. The physical traits are obvious, but so is the developmental work ahead. The Steelers appear willing to be patient with that process, even if it creates an uncomfortable numbers crunch elsewhere on the quarterback depth chart.