Pittsburgh Steelers fans — and likely the coaching staff and front office — were chomping at the bit to see the Steelers’ young quarterbacks make their preseason debuts on Thursday.

QB Will Howard led the Steelers on a successful two-minute drill to close out the first half. Then, QB Drew Allar led the Steelers on three straight touchdown drives in the second half.

Everyone took notice. Beat writer Mark Kaboly said what Allar did on Thursday was “stuff you didn’t see from him” with any sort of consistency, even during the last few weeks of camp. So, does this mean that the Steelers just might have their starting quarterback for 2027?

“He’s capable; That doesn’t mean he’s going to be highly successful,” Kaboly said Monday on 93.7 The Fan’s The Fan Morning Show. “I don’t think we can read too, too much into what you saw on Thursday. Other than he made tremendous leaps just with everything: footwork, decision-making. Some of the accuracy issues that we heard about weren’t really there consistently in that game. If he continues to make that leap… Definitely he could be a starter next year. It doesn’t mean they’re gonna win eight to 12 or 14 games.”

Obviously Kaboly isn’t committing to Drew Allar as the future franchise quarterback of the Steelers right now. However, Allar’s consistency on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers left quite the impression on Kaboly and just about everyone who watched that game. Our very own Josh Carney went back and rewatched Allar’s performance, and he saw the rookie quarterback the way Kaboly did — big leaps forward with footwork, accuracy, and decision-making.

That’s all fantastic news for Allar and the Steelers. However, it was just one preseason game against the backups of the backups for the Packers. Allar has a very long way to go before the Steelers anoint him as the 2027 starter.

However, Kaboly isn’t the only one who thinks Allar could be the potential starter down the road. Allar’s performance impressed former NFL QB Luke McCown in a similar way, too. The Steelers need a long-term solution at the position. They’ve been searching ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired.

To find that solution in the third round would be incredibly impressive. It would also be a testament to head coach Mike McCarthy’s abilities as a quarterback whisperer.