"He Is Who He Was": Steelers' Drew Allar Has An Extremely Long Way To Go At The Professional Level

The Pittsburgh Steelers did not select Drew Allar because his college tape showed that he was already a polished NFL quarterback. They selected him because the of his size, movement ability and strong arm. Analyst Jim Wexell believes those strengths remain obvious in training camp, but so do the same limitations that followed Allar out of Penn State. That leaves Mike McCarthy with a significant makeover to manage.

Pittsburgh used the 76th overall pick on Allar after he started 35 games and threw for 7,402 yards and 61 touchdowns across four seasons with the Penn State Nittany Lions. His résumé showed extensive experience, and his 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame gave the Steelers an easy physical profile to believe in. The attraction begins with throws few quarterbacks can make without strain.

The difficult part has never been identifying Allar’s best traits. He can stand tall in the pocket, drive the football outside the numbers and create explosive plays downfield. His movement also gives him enough athletic ability to escape pressure or extend a play when protection breaks down.

Wexell’s concern is what happens on the snaps that do not require a dramatic throw. During a recent assessment, he argued that Allar still looks like the same developmental passer Pittsburgh evaluated before the draft.

“Big, strong kid who can move, stand in the pocket, throw a great deep ball,” Wexell said. “Decision-making, finesse game—that’s really key. So, that’s going to have to come along a long way. And he is who he was in college. Now he’s getting a quarterback whisperer as a coach. See how it develops.”

The deep ball can create excitement in camp because the result is immediate and visible. A quarterback launches the football, a receiver runs underneath it and the play becomes one of the moments everyone remembers. NFL development is often decided by the quieter throws: a checkdown placed in stride, a slant delivered before the window closes or an underneath route thrown with enough touch to protect the receiver.

Allar’s challenge is making those routine decisions as dependable as the impressive ones. The Steelers cannot build a complete offense around a quarterback who only looks comfortable when the answer is vertical. Defenses will force him to work through progressions, accept shorter completions and place the ball accurately when velocity is not the solution.

Decision-making connects every part of the evaluation. Allar has to identify the coverage, understand where the pressure is coming from and know when the original concept no longer provides the best answer. Holding the football for an extra beat can turn a manageable play into a sack. Forcing a throw because the deep option looks appealing can erase an available gain underneath.

Pittsburgh began attacking Allar’s most criticized area during rookie minicamp by emphasizing his footwork and the connection between each drop and the receiver’s route depth. Unstable feet can create late reads and inaccurate routine throws even when the quarterback sees the field correctly. McCarthy’s offense gives every step a purpose.

McCarthy cannot simply tell Allar to become more accurate in the short game. He has to identify why the miss occurred. The problem could begin with the quarterback reaching the top of his drop too slowly, allowing his base to narrow or failing to reset after moving off the first read. Correcting those details should make the finesse game feel less separate from Allar’s natural strengths.

The Steelers also need to distinguish between a physical limitation and a learned habit. Allar has enough arm talent to reach every required area of the field. If his short accuracy breaks down because of timing, balance or anticipation, the staff has specific areas it can train. The process becomes more difficult if he continues relying on arm strength whenever the play demands touch.

Training camp gives McCarthy a controlled environment to make those corrections, but preseason games will provide the more honest test. Allar will have to operate with a live rush, rotating personnel and coverage looks he has not already studied throughout the week. The Steelers should focus on whether his process holds together when the picture becomes uncomfortable.

A completion will not always mean the rep was good, and an incompletion will not automatically mean the quarterback failed. Pittsburgh can evaluate whether Allar reached the correct read, delivered the football on time and maintained his mechanics. Those details will reveal more about his progress than one deep throw that produces a loud reaction.

Steelers Need McCarthy To Expand Allar’s Game

Wexell’s evaluation does not mean Allar has failed to develop. It establishes how much of the original project remains. The rookie’s size and arm gave Pittsburgh a reason to invest, but those traits only set the starting point. McCarthy now has to build the dependable middle of his game.

The Steelers do not need an immediate transformation. They need visible movement in the areas that kept Allar from becoming a more complete college quarterback. Faster decisions, cleaner footwork and better placement on shorter throws would show that the coaching is reaching him even before the depth chart changes.

McCarthy’s reputation with quarterbacks creates confidence, but it also raises the standard. Pittsburgh chose an offensive head coach partly because the organization needed a better process for identifying and developing its next long-term passer. Allar may become the clearest test of whether that process works.

The deep ball will continue to show why the Steelers drafted him. His future will be decided by everything around it. If McCarthy can improve the decisions, touch and routine accuracy Wexell questioned, Allar can become more than the same intriguing prospect he was at Penn State. If those weaknesses remain, the impressive throws may never be enough to turn him into Pittsburgh’s answer.

#SteelerNation