Steelers selected Penn State QB Drew Allar with the No. 76 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

25 April 2026

A year ago, Allar’s (6’5”/228) stock was at an all-time high, as the former Nittany Lion was viewed as a potential top-five draft pick after throwing for 3,327-24-8 in his third year on campus. Unfortunately, the decision to return to Penn State in 2025 dealt a heavy blow to Allar’s draft stock after his passing numbers regressed in the six games he appeared in, and a broken left ankle prematurely ended his season. It doesn’t take long to look at Allar and see that he has the size and arm strength to make it in the NFL, but that will only get a player so far. Whether by design or not, Allar has pedestrian numbers for his career as far as YPA (7.4) and ADOT (8.5) are concerned, and his adjusted completion percentage (73.1 percent) is on par with recent QB prospects since 2015. Penn State never put high-end receivers around Allar, and his loss of tight end Tyler Warren after 2024 likely explains some of his drop-off in 2025, but the lack of big-time throws on his profile is concerning, given his traits. Allar’s ability as a runner is another plus that has earned him plenty of praise with scouts, but coaches will need to find a way to tap into his potential to see if he has more to offer. For all his flaws, Allar has displayed a good sense for avoiding sacks when pressured, boasting a career pressure-to-sack rate of 12.9 percent while taking only 43 sacks on 1,144 dropbacks. There’s a lot of work to be done here, but Allar is a worthwhile project that could change a franchise if coaches can find a way to maximize his abilities.