It's almost impossible to get a feel for how teams feel about Drew Allar in the NFL Draft. The former Penn State quarterback showed some very impressive signs at times throughout his career, but there were other moments when he just didn't get the job done.
Allar was at his best during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, going for a combined 49 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was able to do what was needed for this offense, though there were still moments when he struggled against better defenses.
Fast forward to 2025, prior to his injury, and he was playing some of the worst football that we saw from him during his time at Penn State.
Ben Solak wasn't the nicest, but he was very real about things when breaking down Allar as a draft prospect.
Solak has Allar landing with the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round at pick No. 130.
“Allar is a tough nut to crack in this draft class. He has been named the toolsy developmental prospect of favor ... but he isn't even as toolsy as North Dakota State's Cole Payton or Arkansas' Taylen Green, who will likely go later,” Solak wrote. “He has the traditional height, weight and arm talent of a dominant pocket passer, but the deterioration of his play from 2024 to 2025 puts a hiccup in his developmental projection. (Allar was limited to six games after a season-ending ankle injury last season.)
“Despite a strong arm, Allar never really pushed the ball downfield in Penn State's offense. In his three seasons as a starter, his most aggressive season (2024) saw an air yards per attempt of 8.2, below the nation's average of 8.4. This is particularly worrisome because Allar enjoyed a low pressure rate (21% in 2025, second to only Carson Beck) and a long time to throw. Yet he still didn't find opportunities or success throwing downfield.”
The one thing I want to touch on here is the fact that while he has some good points, to me, we also can't discredit the fact that James Franklin didn't exactly love throwing the football downfield with any quarterback. That's just not how Penn State was playing offensively with him under center, and it wasn't going to change, no matter who the quarterback was. That's the harsh reality of the situation and something that others are unfortunately going to have to deal with throughout this draft process.