The Pittsburgh Steelers added to their quarterback room this offseason, spending a third-round pick on Penn State’s Drew Allar. While Allar has a lot of potential, he clearly still has a lot to learn. The Steelers are reportedly uninstalling everything that he learned in college. That’s not a great sign for Allar’s current level, but perhaps he can eventually develop into a decent player. Former NFL quarterback Danny Kanell doubts that will happen, sharing how much he disliked the Steelers’ selection of Allar.
“I hated it because I thought it was a reach,” Kanell said recently on CBS Sports HQ. “Drew Allar is somebody who has such tantalizing skills…But you never saw him develop and take that next step as a player…To me, it wasn’t anything mechanical, it wasn’t anything with the system.
“It was more to do about Drew Allar. He was so conservative and became a bit of a Checkdown Charlie…This is somebody who has to take a massive, massive step forward on the field in order to be the franchise quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Allar has arguably the greatest arm strength of any quarterback in his draft class. He’s got special talent, and that’s why people expected him to eventually become one of the top quarterbacks in college football.
However, Allar never really developed, with his flaws only becoming more pronounced. He has poor footwork, which often led to misfires downfield. Also, his decision making wasn’t great, especially in big moments, and, like Kanell says, Allar didn’t often utilize his big arm to its full capabilities.
Allar has a lot of work to do, and Kanell isn’t the only one who thinks that pick was a reach. However, if the Steelers were going to take a swing on a quarterback this year, they could’ve done worse than Allar.
The Steelers likely weren’t going to find their franchise quarterback in the middle of this year’s draft. It was a weak quarterback class overall. However, Allar has a high ceiling. Mike McCarthy is touted as a quarterback guru, and that will be put to the test with Allar.
Also, the rookie will sit behind Aaron Rodgers, who’s one of the best quarterbacks ever. If anyone can teach him about fully utilizing his immense talent, it’s Rodgers.
While Allar has a lot of issues, they aren’t unfixable. Is there a high probability that he’ll completely turn things around and reach his full potential? No, but it’s important to exercise patience with young quarterbacks. We’ll see where Allar is next year and if he’s still dealing with the same problems.