Entering the 2025 college football season, Drew Allar was considered a favorite for both the Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. A disastrous season for the Penn State Nittany Lions dashed those dreams, and Allar also injured his ankle in October.
As a result, Allar enters April’s draft in a position where he’ll likely join a pro club as a late-round selection to develop over the course of several years. Which teams will be interested?
Carolina Panthers
You’ll notice a theme across all my Drew Allar destinations. They’re happy … for now.
The Carolina Panthers have done so much losing that an 8-9 campaign that ended with a competitive playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams had to feel like a Super Bowl. There’s just an inevitable reality about this team’s ceiling with Bryce Young at quarterback.
Young was 32nd in the PFSN NFL Quarterback Impact (QBi) despite the Panthers’ success, and the schedule getting tougher won’t help. This is a team that Dan Morgan and Dave Canales are clearly building around the former Heisman Trophy winner, but he just hasn’t responded with anything that inspires confidence that he’ll be Carolina’s starter in five years.
From a physical perspective, Drew Allar’s 6-foot-5 frame and rocket arm are the polar opposite of Young. Maybe Canales, knowing this pairing isn’t for the long haul, quietly starts the dating process on Day 3. Carolina did just trade Andy Dalton to Philadelphia, too.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence are heading into their second year together with momentum, but I don’t think it’s crazy if the Jaguars end up using one of their seven picks on Day 3 to upgrade their backup quarterback spot. Allar also carries the potential to become more than that.
For whatever reason, the offense’s execution was sloppy under Lawrence’s command. His targets led the NFL in dropped passes (45), and the team struggled with offensive penalties. Coen even had to downplay some visible frustration at Lawrence over ball placement in September.
Jacksonville is a team that’s also happily married to its passer, for now. Allar could be brought in as just one toe out the door if Coen can get the best out of the Penn State alum, just as he has Lawrence, Baker Mayfield, Will Levis, and other quarterbacks at previous stops.
Nick Mullens is the current uninspiring backup in Duval County.
Denver Broncos
Did Sean Payton “soft launch” a Bo Nix divorce earlier this year?
Payton’s bizarre comments about Nix’s season-ending ankle injury were just another eyebrow-raising quote in yet another marriage that seems content, but not perfect. Nix ranked just 14th in PFSN’s QBi score despite a top-five offensive line.
Broncos fans are still ardent Bo-lievers, so there’s no way Denver is moving on from their former first-round pick anytime soon. However, if Payton, armed with a deep roster lacking holes, invests a Day 3 selection into Drew Allar’s obvious size, arm strength, and college experience, it’s a move to bookmark considering those odd comments.
At worst, Allar replaces Sam Ehlinger as the third quarterback on Denver’s roster.
San Francisco 49ers
Though he’d never admit it, the wheels have to be churning in Kyle Shanahan’s head about what happened at his quarterback spot in 2025.
Of course, Brock Purdy led all quarterbacks in PFSN’s QBi, but Mac Jones, who started 8 games, was also ninth in that category.
Purdy has yet to play for an NFL team other than the 49ers, but Jones’ disastrous tenures with the Patriots and Jaguars show that Shanahan’s system played a big role in his revival. Lest we forget, Shanahan also managed to carry Jimmy Garoppolo into multiple deep playoff runs.
Every magician plans their greatest trick or escape yet as their next. What if Kyle Shanahan, possessing four fourth-round picks, plans his greatest act yet? He might think he could take Allar’s physical tools and create a mobile cyborg that can make plays out of structure, like the guy who has dominated him in two Super Bowls.
Purdy’s contract means he’s not going anywhere soon, but the team has to be planning ahead if his limitations and inability to stay healthy keep hitting a defined ceiling.
Pittsburgh Steelers
As of now, Mason Rudolph and Will Howard are the two quarterbacks on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster. That will certainly change before training camp starts.
How? Will Aaron Rodgers return for another campaign where he led the Steelers to an AFC North title?
Are they going to be interested in Ty Simpson with an early selection? Mike McCarthy has a mammoth decision to make in his first offseason with Pittsburgh.
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If it is Rodgers for another season, the Steelers have 10 picks after the start of the third round. They’re eventually going to run out of holes to fill without selecting a quarterback somewhere, which is how they landed on Howard late in last year’s draft.
At a low cost, Drew Allar is another interesting name they could add to the quarterback room in their search for an answer. If Howard and Allar both show no promise heading into the 2027 NFL Draft, the Steelers won’t have committed any sort of capital that deters them from selecting a signal-caller in the first round.
