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The Steelers have finally displayed some semblance of urgency at the quarterback position, drafting Drew Allar out of Penn State with one of the picks they netted last year from the George Pickens trade (76th pick, third round).
Allar, whose performance dropped off in 2025 after some believed him on track to be a potential first-rounder this year—his coach, James Franklin, was fired midseason and his tight end, Tyler Warren, was drafted, which cost the young quarterback one of the truly great outlet receivers in college football—is a classic, modern mid-rounder. A quarterback with ideal size and athleticism whose flaws (in this case, some version of footwork, accuracy and his composure when the pocket breaks down) necessitate the very kind of teaching that NFL teams don’t have the time or willingness to provide. This isn’t to say that Allar won’t develop. It is to say that he’ll need to pay for the privilege over the course of the offseason with a private trainer.
Because of that, any belief that this pick will alter Aaron Rodgers’s increasingly confounding decision-making timetable is unrealistic. The Steelers missed significant chances to distance themselves from Rodgers, who, by the way, played at about Tyler Shough levels of efficiency last year, which you can make your own mind up about as to whether this is worth the trouble. The Steelers missed a chance to meaningfully alter their position as wholly desperate for a mercurial 42-year-old who seems to very much enjoy playing mind games with people who expect anything of him.
And so here we are. No offense to Allar, but if any team believed he could start meaningful games in September, he would have been drafted on Thursday—especially in a draft so profoundly devoid of top-tier quarterback play. The Cardinals’ first target as a possible starter (Jimmy Garoppolo) is mulling retirement. The next, Jacoby Brissett, is essentially on strike for fair wages (you go, Jacoby). The one after that, Ty Simpson, was picked 13th by the Rams in what was the most puzzling selection of the 2026 draft. Arizona, the only team that had a more morose quarterback situation than Pittsburgh, finally took Carson Beck with the 65th pick Friday.
The Steelers, who drafted a first-round tackle in Max Iheanachor, who is still learning the nuances of football and needs to be developed as well, are obviously keeping a seat warm for Rodgers. The question is how they have arrived at the point where utilizing a critical second-day pick on an insurance policy has become what amounts to a wise strategy.
Mike McCarthy has been unbelievably fortunate to bounce from Brett Favre to Rodgers to Dak Prescott during his head coaching career (while also, in fairness, doing a fine job getting quarterbacks such as Cooper Rush ready to play). He of all people, no matter how lucky he felt he was in getting the Steelers’ job in the first place, should have been personally valeting Kirk Cousins or Garoppolo to the facility. He should have been pressuring the market for Daniel Jones or Malik Willis.
So many teams are already so well positioned to move up for 2027 quarterbacks that a future lifeline doesn’t feel realistic, either. Even if the Rodgers bridge years buy Pittsburgh more time, they’re unlikely to yield anything, save for a less appetizing version of what we have now.
The question remains: Why? I’ve seen so much of the blame cast on Rodgers, even though by now we are absolutely certain of his entire makeup. His propensity to disappear to Egypt. Or deep Oregon. Or a treehouse in Narnia. He simply doesn’t understand or care why he needs to make a decision, but will also absolutely flame a team for being up front and honest about not wanting him. He is less of an enigma than a big, rich 16-year-old (not a slight, by the way—I wish we could all live that unmoored from the expectations of others).
The Steelers absolutely knew not to believe him when he said he wouldn’t drag his decision out this year. They absolutely knew he would be difficult to reach. They were positive he wielded his own media soapbox, which would immensely complicate this process.
And still, The Plan culminated in expecting life would be different, waiting until all the other good veteran quarterbacks signed, and drafting Allar in the third round.
Again, there’s such a large part of me that wants to see Allar perform so well in training camp that Rodgers becomes superfluous. My obsession with maximizing mid-round quarterbacks, ignited during the Russell Wilson years, is an eternal flame. But with years of data that suggest these quarterbacks are almost all available for a reason, picking Allar to join a quarterback room with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard does nothing other than strengthen Rodgers’s position further.
Which means that we wait. Just like we were waiting before the draft. Just like we will wait into the summer.
More NFL Draft From Sports Illustrated
- Saints-Raiders Trade Grades: Former Top-10 Pick Tyree Wilson Heads to New Orleans
- Jermod McCoy’s NFL Draft Skid Finally Halted As Raiders Trade Up to Pick Him on Day 3
- Steal City? We Asked Steelers, Eagles Fans About the Makai Lemon Debacle
- Sean McVay Explains His Viral Reaction to Rams Shockingly Drafting Ty Simpson
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drafting Drew Allar Does Nothing to Change Steelers’ Wait for Aaron Rodgers.
