The Pittsburgh Steelers gamble on Penn State's Drew Allar, a high-potential quarterback who broke an ankle last season, in the third round of the NFL Draft.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been seeking a long-term quarterback for most of this decade, and perhaps they found their man on Friday by selecting Penn State’s Drew Allar with the first of three third-round picks in the NFL Draft.
The Steelers chose Aller with the No. 76 pick even though he missed the second half of last season with a broken ankle. Aller did not participate in athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine and took part only in positional drills during Penn State’s pro day.
Yet, Pittsburgh was willing to bet on the 6-foot-5, 228-pound Aller, who becomes the third quarterback on its roster with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. The Steelers are waiting to see if 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers, their starting quarterback last season when they won the AFC North, decides to return for a second year in Pittsburgh.
The quarterback situation has been in flux since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season.
Allar was injured in the sixth game of last season and underwent surgery. Penn State split those games after entering the season ranked No. 2, and he completed 103 of 159 passes (64.8%) for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions. Aller also rushed for 172 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries.
Aller played 10 games as a reserve for Penn State in 2022, then started 13 games in 2023 and 16 in 2024. The Nittany Lions had a 26-9 record in his 35 starts, and Aller was an honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2023 and 2024.
For his career, Aller was 633-of-1,002 passing for a school-record 63.2 completion percentage, 7,402 yards, and 61 touchdowns while being intercepted 13 times. He rushed for 732 yards and 12 touchdowns on 224 carries.
"I think what's most exciting when you're talking about the quarterback position is can this guy throw the football, and I think he throws it as well as any quarterback in this draft class,” Steelers quarterback coach Tom Arth said. “He has an effortless arm. He can make every single throw on the field, and he's a better athlete than I think he's given credit for."
Aller is just one of three FBS players to attempt at least 1,000 career passes and have fewer than 15 interceptions. The others are Heisman Trophy winners Caleb Williams of USC and Marcus Mariota of Oregon. As a sophomore in 2023, Allar became the second player in FBS history to throw at least 25 touchdown passes with two or fewer interceptions in a single season, joining Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (2022).
Aller set an FBS record by beginning his career with 311 passing attempts without an interception, easily surpassing the old mark of 209 by Baylor’s Robert Griffin III. Allar was the first quarterback in Penn State history to throw for at least 10 touchdowns before being intercepted.
Yet Aller did throw a key interception in the 2024 College Football Playoff that set up Notre Dame’s game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter.
Aller was the fourth quarterback drafted this year after Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Alabama’s Ty Simpson, and Miami’s Carson Beck.
Aller graduated from Medina (Ohio) High School, where he was considered a five-star recruit and the No. 1 quarterback prospect nationally. As a senior in 2021, Aller was Ohio’s Mr. Football after throwing for 4,444 yards and 49 touchdowns and rushing for 406 yards and nine touchdowns. He also lettered in basketball and baseball.
Allar’s father, Kevin, played tight end at Eastern Michigan and was a teammate of future Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch. Blake Barchak, Drew Aller’s cousin, was killed in a car accident at 17 in 2012. Barchak was an idol of Aller’s as a high school linebacker.
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