Drew Allar took his first step toward becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback of the future Thursday night, leading the team to a 28-9 preseason victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Allar completed 10/13 passes for 153 yards and scored three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the victory.
The Steelers drafted Allar out of Penn State in the 2026 NFL Draft in the third round. New head Coach Mike McCarthy is tasked with finding the team's next franchise quarterback. The storied franchise is hoping Allar can be that guy.
Allar's performance gives hope to Pittsburgh fans
Allar's performance Thursday night gave Steelers fans plenty of reason for optimism. He displayed the timing, mechanics, and arm strength that made him an intriguing developmental quarterback coming out of Penn State.
While preseason defenses don't always present the same challenges as the regular season, it's still valuable to evaluate the traits Allar displayed throughout the game. So here are the types of throws Allar made and how he did with them. Of his 13 official pass attempts:
- On the move: 4/5 with two touchdowns
- Slant routes: 4/4
- Pocket working to sideline: 2/2
- Deep down sideline: 0/2
It was good to see Allar on the move. He wasn't the most athletic quarterback in the draft, but he looked good enough to move around, and that part of his report holds here. The accuracy was also strong on the move, even after an early incompletion. One negative on my scouting report for Allar was that he wasn't the most receiver-friendly quarterback. He had a hard time putting the ball in easy places for his receivers to catch it and make plays in college.
One development I noticed in this game was his first incompletion compared to his last completion. Both plays were on rollouts on pass attempts to Riley Nowakowski. On the first attempt, an incompletioon, Allar targeted the ball a little low and away from Nowakowski, almost like Allar expected his receiver to run the route through to the pylon. The ball was too hot for Nowakowski, and he couldn't come up with it.
On the final pass attempt for Allar, it was a similar play. Play-action with Nowakowski on the move into the flat towards the end zone. This time, however, Allar put the ball up soft and above Nowakowski's head. Still maybe a little higher than you want, but a different type of pass than the first attempt, and Nowakowski brought it down for a score.
Allar also showed excellent timing and zip on his slants, which really helped the Steelers move down the field. Including his first pass of the game on a slant to Kaden Wetjen, which ended up going 74 yards. Setting up the first attempt to Nowakowski and the eventual touchdown run by Allar.
Drew it up perfectly 🎯 @allarDrew | @WetjenKaden | 🎥 https://t.co/IC3NyP3qDh pic.twitter.com/jaIFVwSakd
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 14, 2026
The timing and placement of a couple of out routes were also good by Allar, since those short throws moving towards the sideline were a negative in his scouting report as well. And his two deep shots on the sideline were misses, but one was very well covered, and the other was more of a throwaway.
What's next for Drew Allar?
When the Steelers face the New York Jets next Friday, what should fans hope to see from Allar? First, they'll probably want to see more snaps. Allar was on the field for 26 official plays starting from the end of the third quarter.
Mason Rudolph got the start on Thursday and had 19 plays over the first two series. Then Will Howard came in and also got 19 plays over the next three series. Fans will hope to see less of Rudolph on Friday and more of both Allar and Howard.
The next step will be attacking deeper portions of the field. This could be down the sideline or something big over the middle. But most of Allar's air yards on completions were shorter in nature. Can he have something develop downfield and deliver an accurate completion?
And finally, consistency. Big plays are exciting, but repeating the fundamentals that fueled his debut will matter even more. If Allar can deliver another game with strong timing, accuracy, decision-making, and ball security, Steelers fans will have every reason to be optimistic about his future in Pittsburgh, especially as the NFL Rookie QB Futures series continues to track the development of the 2026 quarterback class.
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