Steelers' Omar Khan Detailed How The Front Office Targeted Drew Allar From The Get-Go: "It Felt Right"

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a clear project quarterback when they selected Penn State gunslinger Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy to be the next head coach, and he has a long history with quarterbacks. His next, and possibly toughest project, will be with Allar. He's a super raw prospect with a big arm, but it seems as though McCarthy is up to the challenge. McCarthy has identified a lot of the issues in Allar's game and has already begun working from the ground up on things like footwork in rookie minicamp. 

Allar was the only quarterback invited to minicamp, and the coaching staff and front office really wanted to see what the rookie could do and what they needed to work on. He took all the reps, which is a sign that he needs all the snaps he can to continue to improve. McCarthy spent a ton of one-on-one time with Allar, something that previous coaches have not done with Steelers quarterbacks. This is all in an effort to find a future franchise quarterback in the Steel City. 

The Steelers clearly had their eye on Allar coming into the draft as a developmental piece whom they wanted to take a chance on. Steelers General Manager Omar Khan spoke on the Deebo & Joe podcast featuring former Steelers defenders Joe Haden and James Harrison. Khan explained that Allar had been on their radar and how they ended up drafting him. 

"We were excited to get him," Khan explained. "We just knew we had a couple of guys we really liked, Drew being one of them, and we weren't gonna trade away from 'em. And if they were there at a certain point, we would draft 'em. That's how we went with Drew. We really like him. The spring was just good for him."

Khan had a target area for when they wanted to draft Allar, and he was there for the taking at pick 76. Allar was considered one of the top quarterback prospects of the what was supposed to be a quarterback-loaded draft. He suffered a season-ending ankle injury in college, just a few games into the season, but in the games he did play, he looked like a very raw prospect. Pittsburgh was up to the challenge with its new coaching staff, and elected to take Allar with its first of three third-round picks. 

Khan explained later in the podcast segment that during their pre-draft activities, he was very impressed with how McCarthy and Allar connected. It seemed like a great fit from the start. The moment sounds like it was a catalyst for the Steelers wanting to draft Allar. 

"We met with him at the [NFL] Combine. I wish you guys could've seen just the interaction with him and Coach McCarthy talking ball. It was awesome. We ended up bringing him in for a top-30 visit, and it was the same; it just felt right," Khan said. 

McCarthy has been known to take young arms to the next level, and with how confident the organization and the coaching staff feels they can develop Allar, and the chemistry between head coach and quarterback, there could be something special brewing in Pittsburgh. 

Steelers Are Changing Their QB Development Big Time

In previous years and with the prior coaching staff, the head coach did not spend much time specifically with quarterbacks. The organization has hired an offensive-minded head coach, something that is atypical for them, and with that, McCarthy has hired staff who will help him get the most out of his signal-callers. McCarthy's quarterback school is in session in the Steel City. 

The connection between McCarthy and Allar and the things that have been put in place for young quarterbacks to succeed will help the team in the long run. Even if it's not Allar, Pittsburgh is more set up to develop quarterbacks than it has been in many years. 

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