Drew Allar almost certainly won't start for the Steelers in 2026.
Seismic stance, I know. But hear me out.
General rule of thumb: If a quarterback's having every single step he's taking, forward or backward, monitored intensely by the head coach of the entire operation, with orders being barked for every minute mistake with footwork ... yeah, that ain't close to being anybody's QB1.
All of that occurred over the weekend at the team's rookie minicamp that formally concluded yesterday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mike McCarthy and Tom Arth, the quarterbacks coach, stood just behind Allar with every snap of a solo drill early in the Saturday session. Each dropback was scripted to come with exaggerated length and gait, the better to emphasize the changes needed. Later on, each team drill that'd expose Allar prioritizing his throw over the footwork would be vocally called out by McCarthy. And I mean vocally.
It's the kinda scene that, had there been any other quarterbacks around, might've been a bit embarrassing for a kid's first NFL experience.
But then, there's also this:
Same thing. That's what I'm describing.
Only now, see that through this prism: Allar was the only quarterback in this rookie minicamp. No practice-squad possibilities. No spares.
And that, as McCarthy'd concede, was by design. He wanted no one else present.
"We did, and we pushed him," McCarthy'd say of Allar. "To go 35 snaps in a team drill, that's pushing it. But he handled it. We kind of gauged it yesterday to see how we'd work through it, and he's a big part of it. Everybody else, knowing their assignments, the defense getting their communication ... it's important for us offensively to really push the envelope in the pre-snap component of it. To make sure the defense is seeing the 4-5 different personnel groups and those types of things. They need the formations, they need the motions, they need the communication, and they need to make the adjustments. I felt really good about that. If your quarterback can't handle it, then you don't get to go to the speed and the tempo and the pre-snap that we were able to go. I thought Drew did a hell of a job."
They did this with Will Howard, too, a couple weeks ago. Mason Rudolph, as well. So it's not as if Allar's getting some preferential treatment.
But it's pointed. It's specific. And it's targeted at the top priority of all, which is, at long, long, long, long last, pushing toward truly identifying the next franchise quarterback.
Maybe it won't be Allar. Maybe it won't be Howard. Maybe it won't even be the fantasy figment of our collective imagination embodied by the Steelers' top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
I'll take it. It's something. It's a sense, just seeing the young man wearing the uniform, that there might finally be a fresh generation at the most important position. It's grossly overdue, by only about seven years, but it's a start.
KARL ROSER / STEELERS
The entirety of the Steelers' rookie minicamp roster assembles for a pic Saturday.
• I don't care if Aaron Rodgers happens to be in town, happens to be planning to sign, happens to be roller-skating in Market Square, happens to be strolling on some beach squeezing sand between his toes. I care about who's next. Flaws, inexperience and all.
• I also don't care how that might come across. Almost everything else, from the team perspective, feels like killing the clock, kicking the can ... call it whatever one will.
• There's a natural ease to Allar's throws. It's an NFL arm, not a college arm.
I asked Germie Bernard about that:
Catch the smile that came with the response?
That, plus Allar's equal ease in front of cameras and microphones -- they tend to have tons of those in State College -- were my main first impressions. He's comfortable as the guy.
• Bernard, the second-round wide receiver out of Alabama and the draft pick who'll almost surely be the most likely to take on a regular role right away, has an Emmanuel Sanders-like smoothness about his routes, his catches and his turns upfield. And if that reference predates some, suffice it to say that's someone who does everything well.
• No idea how Roman Wilson makes this roster. If I'm lining up three wide receivers, they're DK Metcalf, Mike Pittman and Bernard. If I'm lining up a fourth, I'm using Ben Skowronek, if only for his fierce and potentially distracting blocking ability.
• Max Iheanachor confirmed he'll stick at right tackle, which would strongly suggest Troy Fautanu will switch to the left. That'd have both on the sides they played in college.
One problem: Dylan Cook's close to the 2025 NFL season wasn't a mirage, unless I'm to ignore pretty much every evaluation of his work from anywhere at all. And he achieved that at the only level that matters, not to mention against Myles Garrett and other premier edge rushers. I can't fathom this being ignored because the other two in the mix were first-rounders and he wasn't drafted at all.
At the least, Cook deserves to be the default starter at the outset of the summer. Make somebody beat him out.
And good luck to that somebody.
• While on the O-line, I'll add that Gennings Dunker, a tackle-capable type in college, reaffirmed for me that won't be the case here. He's been given endless reels of Isaac Seumalo to watch, which means he'll be battling at left guard along with Spencer Anderson and Brock Hoffman.
• No way I wasn't going to ask Dunker about that Carson Street-looking mullet:
• There isn't anywhere near as much drama on the other line, but I couldn't help but notice Gabriel Rubio, the sixth-round defensive tackle who already appears ... well, he's got the NFL frame and, from everything apparent in this modest setting, NFL poise.
Two quick questions I had:
Now, I could rinse-repeat how this'll be the year Cam Heyward's snaps are finally reduced and the defensive-line rotation will finally ratchet up ... but hey, it's a new staff, so maybe. Plus, Rubio's chops at Notre Dame were rooted in the run-stuff, and there's always a need for that.
• That said, the obvious quarterback pursuit aside, let it be known that 2027 needs to be the year of the defensive line. Can't count on Cam forever.
• Legit eager for the next chapter of the real quarterback story. The first regular round of OTAs begins May 18.
THE ASYLUM
DK: The yearn for youth, at last, at quarterback
Drew Allar almost certainly won't start for the Steelers in 2026.
Seismic stance, I know. But hear me out.
General rule of thumb: If a quarterback's having every single step he's taking, forward or backward, monitored intensely by the head coach of the entire operation, with orders being barked for every minute mistake with footwork ... yeah, that ain't close to being anybody's QB1.
All of that occurred over the weekend at the team's rookie minicamp that formally concluded yesterday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mike McCarthy and Tom Arth, the quarterbacks coach, stood just behind Allar with every snap of a solo drill early in the Saturday session. Each dropback was scripted to come with exaggerated length and gait, the better to emphasize the changes needed. Later on, each team drill that'd expose Allar prioritizing his throw over the footwork would be vocally called out by McCarthy. And I mean vocally.
It's the kinda scene that, had there been any other quarterbacks around, might've been a bit embarrassing for a kid's first NFL experience.
But then, there's also this:
Same thing. That's what I'm describing.
Only now, see that through this prism: Allar was the only quarterback in this rookie minicamp. No practice-squad possibilities. No spares.
And that, as McCarthy'd concede, was by design. He wanted no one else present.
"We did, and we pushed him," McCarthy'd say of Allar. "To go 35 snaps in a team drill, that's pushing it. But he handled it. We kind of gauged it yesterday to see how we'd work through it, and he's a big part of it. Everybody else, knowing their assignments, the defense getting their communication ... it's important for us offensively to really push the envelope in the pre-snap component of it. To make sure the defense is seeing the 4-5 different personnel groups and those types of things. They need the formations, they need the motions, they need the communication, and they need to make the adjustments. I felt really good about that. If your quarterback can't handle it, then you don't get to go to the speed and the tempo and the pre-snap that we were able to go. I thought Drew did a hell of a job."
They did this with Will Howard, too, a couple weeks ago. Mason Rudolph, as well. So it's not as if Allar's getting some preferential treatment.
But it's pointed. It's specific. And it's targeted at the top priority of all, which is, at long, long, long, long last, pushing toward truly identifying the next franchise quarterback.
Maybe it won't be Allar. Maybe it won't be Howard. Maybe it won't even be the fantasy figment of our collective imagination embodied by the Steelers' top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
I'll take it. It's something. It's a sense, just seeing the young man wearing the uniform, that there might finally be a fresh generation at the most important position. It's grossly overdue, by only about seven years, but it's a start.
KARL ROSER / STEELERS
The entirety of the Steelers' rookie minicamp roster assembles for a pic Saturday.
• I don't care if Aaron Rodgers happens to be in town, happens to be planning to sign, happens to be roller-skating in Market Square, happens to be strolling on some beach squeezing sand between his toes. I care about who's next. Flaws, inexperience and all.
• I also don't care how that might come across. Almost everything else, from the team perspective, feels like killing the clock, kicking the can ... call it whatever one will.
• There's a natural ease to Allar's throws. It's an NFL arm, not a college arm.
I asked Germie Bernard about that:
Catch the smile that came with the response?
That, plus Allar's equal ease in front of cameras and microphones -- they tend to have tons of those in State College -- were my main first impressions. He's comfortable as the guy.
• Bernard, the second-round wide receiver out of Alabama and the draft pick who'll almost surely be the most likely to take on a regular role right away, has an Emmanuel Sanders-like smoothness about his routes, his catches and his turns upfield. And if that reference predates some, suffice it to say that's someone who does everything well.
• No idea how Roman Wilson makes this roster. If I'm lining up three wide receivers, they're DK Metcalf, Mike Pittman and Bernard. If I'm lining up a fourth, I'm using Ben Skowronek, if only for his fierce and potentially distracting blocking ability.
• Max Iheanachor confirmed he'll stick at right tackle, which would strongly suggest Troy Fautanu will switch to the left. That'd have both on the sides they played in college.
One problem: Dylan Cook's close to the 2025 NFL season wasn't a mirage, unless I'm to ignore pretty much every evaluation of his work from anywhere at all. And he achieved that at the only level that matters, not to mention against Myles Garrett and other premier edge rushers. I can't fathom this being ignored because the other two in the mix were first-rounders and he wasn't drafted at all.
At the least, Cook deserves to be the default starter at the outset of the summer. Make somebody beat him out.
And good luck to that somebody.
• While on the O-line, I'll add that Gennings Dunker, a tackle-capable type in college, reaffirmed for me that won't be the case here. He's been given endless reels of Isaac Seumalo to watch, which means he'll be battling at left guard along with Spencer Anderson and Brock Hoffman.
• No way I wasn't going to ask Dunker about that Carson Street-looking mullet:
• There isn't anywhere near as much drama on the other line, but I couldn't help but notice Gabriel Rubio, the sixth-round defensive tackle who already appears ... well, he's got the NFL frame and, from everything apparent in this modest setting, NFL poise.
Two quick questions I had:
Now, I could rinse-repeat how this'll be the year Cam Heyward's snaps are finally reduced and the defensive-line rotation will finally ratchet up ... but hey, it's a new staff, so maybe. Plus, Rubio's chops at Notre Dame were rooted in the run-stuff, and there's always a need for that.
• That said, the obvious quarterback pursuit aside, let it be known that 2027 needs to be the year of the defensive line. Can't count on Cam forever.
• Legit eager for the next chapter of the real quarterback story. The first regular round of OTAs begins May 18.
• Thanks for reading my football coverage.
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