Northeast Ohio native, Drew Allar shares details of NFL Combine meeting with Cleveland Browns and reacts to potentially landing with his hometown team
Several years ago, when Drew Allar was breaking records as the quarterback at Medina High School, some dreamed of the five-star recruit returning to Northeast Ohio to be the franchise quarterback the Cleveland Browns have longed for.
That vision surely went both ways, as Allar grew up attending Browns games with a set of tickets passed down through the family.
"I was, I would say, a pretty big Browns fan growing up," Allar admitted at the NFL Combine on Friday. "I went to every single home Browns game from the time I was 7 through my senior year of high school. My great-grandfather had season tickets, so they've been passed down since the '60s, I guess. So I've been fortunate enough to be to a lot of Browns games."
Fast forward to 2026, and that Allar-to-the-Browns fantasy could very well become a reality when Allar realizes his own NFL dream at the draft in April.
Unfortunately, he comes to the pros under some less-than-ideal circumstances, after his senior season at Penn State was cut short due to a broken ankle. The injury, combined with three years' worth of inconsistent tape as the Nittany Lions' starting QB have left Allar's draft value unclear. He hopes to help his stock at the NFL Combine this week.
The 21-year-old plans on throwing during the on-field QB workouts in Indy on Saturday. He won't participate in any other drills though, saving those for his pro day. Of course, Allar also sold himself to teams during the player interview portion of the week. One of them was with the Browns, he admitted.
"I actually know their quarterback coach [Mike Bajakian] from high school recruiting," said Allar of the conversation. "He was the OC quarterback coach at Northwestern when I was coming out of high school, so I was familiar with him going into that meeting."
As fate would have it, the Browns QB situation remains unresolved at this point. 2025 fifth-round pick Shedeuer Sanders showed some promise in his seven starts to close out last season, but not enough to be crowned QB1 ahead of next year.
Embattled veteran Deshaun Watson is finally set for a full return to the field after rupturing his Achilles twice in 2024. Then there's Dillon Gabriel, another rookie from last year, who was Wally Pipped by Sanders after suffering a concussion midway through the season.
With Todd Monken taking over as head coach, there's bound to be some shuffling inside the QB room this offseason. That could include Cleveland drafting a third QB in two years.
Allar has pictured the possibility of ending up with his hometown team.
"I think any team or any opportunity that I would have to play in the NFL would be a dream come true," Allar explained. "That one would be really cool and surreal just because I grew up going to Browns games and grew up a Browns fan."
The stars may just align to bring Allar and his beloved Browns together. If they do, Cleveland may come to realize the franchise QB it always wanted was closer than it realized.
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