Steelers Rework Rookie QB Drew Allar's Mechanics, Erasing Penn State Habits

Steelers reworking rookie QB Drew Allar's mechanics, erasing Penn State habits in NFL rookie reboot

Pittsburgh used a third-round pick on Drew Allar, and the former Penn State QB must start over in the Mike McCarthy system

By Brad Crawford

May 13, 2026 at 2:35 pm ET • 2 min read

- - -

First-year Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy is  starting from scratch with rookie quarterback Drew Allar , a talented — and extremely raw — third-round pick out of Penn State. Once projected as a Day 1 selection, Allar elected to return for a final season in the Big Ten after throwing for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2024, leading the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

However, Allar regressed as a passer thereafter,  suffered a season-ending injury last October  and slipped to the third round.

The Steelers are trying to give Allar the best chance to succeed by altering his delivery and stance as a passer, ESPN reports.

"They're essentially uninstalling everything he has learned, and they're re-uploading their own methods, fundamentals, and mechanics with Allar," Brooke  Pryor said Wednesday . "I watched Mike McCarthy and QB coach Tom Arth be very intentional with Allar, who was running at about half speed, working on his footwork throughout that practice."

Pittsburgh reportedly hopes to widen Allar's base and keep him off his toes in the pocket, which in turn should give the quarterback more time to process and move faster against a pass rush as he gets acclimated to the NFL .

The Steelers are without a starting quarterback, but have Allar, second-year Ohio State product  Will Howard and veteran Mason Rudolph on the roster. The long expectation is that Aaron Rodgers re-signs and teams back up with his former Packers coach.

Allar, one of the top recruits in Penn State history as the No. 3 overall player and top quarterback in 2022, was a three-year starter for the Nittany Lions and finished his collegiate career with 7,402 yards passing, 61 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Allar's upside, potential pitfalls

At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds with a strong arm, Allar looks the part of a modern NFL quarterback, but the evaluation tape still carries more variance than certainty heading into his pro career. The concerns aren't about tools, but consistency after his completion percentage varied greatly at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions' wideout core was a mixed bag during his tenure, but there were times when variance in Allar's production and snap-to-snap consistency limited Penn State's offense. He showed enough arm strength to attack every level of the field, yet the ball placement and timing were unpredictable.

Penn State's structure — leaning heavily on the rushing attack — often protected him from having to operate in pure chaos, and when the pocket breaks down, his processing was considered slow by NFL evaluators. That hesitation showed up in missed opportunities and occasional turnover-worthy decisions, including multi-interception games against USC and Oregon — in the Big Ten Championship Game — as a junior.

In three playoff starts during the 2024 season, Allar threw three touchdown passes and an interception, along with a completion rate under 55%. Penn State never built its game plan around Allar's arm against elite competition, with most of his production coming against teams without comparable talent.

There are also lingering questions about his footwork, which is part of the reason the Steelers are pressing the issue during minicamp. Allar still feels like a developmental bet rather than a plug-and-play answer to Pittsburgh's recent quarterback issues, but like most rookies under McCarthy's watch, going through QB school this offseason should be beneficial to his development.

Join the Conversation comments

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/steelers-rookie-qb-drew-allar-mechanics-penn-state/)._