Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest quarterback rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft should raise some questions in Happy Valley, with Drew Allar checking in as his No. 5 quarterback.
In a class that Kiper currently slots as Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore, Ty Simpson, Trinidad Chambliss, and Allar, it’s tough to say that Allar coming back this past year was the right decision.
However, I see it the opposite way, as I think Allar could end up being one of the best buy-low quarterback options in this entire class.
Kiper’s list had Mendoza, Moore, Simpson, Chambliss, Allar, Carson Beck, John Mateer, Garrett Nussmeier, Diego Pavia, and Taylen Green, a bunch of good quarterbacks with one elite one in Mendoza.
Allar is being judged on expectations he didn’t always meet at Penn State, and it’s toug to say that’s unfair.
Allar entered college with five-star hype and the hope of being something Penn State has been looking for throughout much of its existence.
Allar has already played significant snaps against top competition in the Big Ten and some of the struggles might not be due to what he did, and more so, James Franklin continuing to run a very boring offense. He’s had to win games without elite receiver talent bailing him out and there’s something to be said about that.
For Penn State, Allar hasn’t always been put in a position to inflate his numbers or even succeed. The offense was heavily involved in the run game, limiting opportunities to showcase what he can really do with his arm.
However, as Allar was able to show at times, he can throw it with the best of them when he’s playing his best football.
Quarterbacks drafted outside of the top few picks don’t always have a chance to play right away, but considering Allar missed a lot of last season, it might not be bad to have him develop in a new system.
Allar feels like the type of prospect who would benefit greatly from having a chance to sit behind a player who has been in the league a bit and learn from them.