Mike Tannenbaum, the former New York Jets general manager, released his seven-round draft board for ESPN this week, and buried in the Day 3 projections are two quarterbacks he believes could be steals.
Arkansas’ Taylen Green and Penn State’s Drew Allar both landed as Round 4 targets on Tannenbaum’s board, a valuation that looks increasingly optimistic given their pre-draft buzz but reflects legitimate concerns about both players’ readiness.
Taylen Green’s Historic NFL Combine Performance Changed His Draft Stock
Tannenbaum’s thesis is straightforward. In a draft class lacking a clear franchise quarterback besides Fernando Mendoza, teams that overlook the top options shouldn’t panic. Instead, they should wait, seek value, and focus on development.
Green put together arguably the greatest athletic testing day by a quarterback in NFL combine history. At 6-foot-5⅞ and 227 pounds, he ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, the second-fastest time by a combine quarterback since at least 2003. Green also set quarterback records in the vertical jump (43½ inches) and broad jump (11-foot-2), shattering marks previously held by Anthony Richardson.
Tannenbaum took notice before Indianapolis. “I’m highlighting two quarterbacks in the Round 4 range, and I’d be happy getting either of them. I just can’t miss out on both of them,” he wrote in his ESPN draft board.
“The first is Green, who, of course, dominated the combine. At 6-foot-6 and 227 pounds, Green had a 4.36 in the 40, 43½ inches in the vertical, and 11-foot-2 in the broad jump. But he actually started to get my attention weeks earlier at the Senior Bowl,” Tannenbaum wrote. “The accuracy needs to improve, but getting him in the building and working with him could pay off in a big way because of all those plus traits.”
The accuracy concern is valid. Green never completed better than 61.3% of his passes in a full season, finishing his 2025 campaign at Arkansas with 2,714 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. His release is elongated, and his ball placement is inconsistent on intermediate routes.
But the athletic profile is staggering. Green rushed for 777 yards and eight touchdowns this past season while accounting for over 3,400 yards of total offense in the SEC. He won Mountain West Freshman of the Year at Boise State in 2022 and earned MWC Championship Game MVP honors in 2023 before transferring.
For his career across five college seasons, Green threw for over 9,600 yards and 59 touchdowns while adding 2,405 rushing yards and 35 scores on the ground. He’s a project, but the tools are undeniable.
Why Drew Allar Fell From First-Round NFL Draft Hype to Day 3 Value
Drew Allar was supposed to be a top-10 pick. Multiple reports last offseason had him pegged as a potential No. 2 overall selection to Cleveland. Instead, he returned to Penn State chasing a national championship and watched everything collapse.
The Nittany Lions started 3-0 before losing to Oregon in overtime, then dropped back-to-back games to UCLA and Northwestern. In that Northwestern loss, Allar scrambled for a first down and went down awkwardly after contact from two defenders.
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The broken left ankle ended his season. James Franklin was fired the next day. In six games, Allar threw for just 1,100 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. The sample was ugly, the ending uglier, but Tannenbaum sees long-term value.
“The other quarterback is Allar, who started 35 games in college before a season-ending ankle injury last year against Northwestern,” Tannenbaum wrote. “There’s a tremendous amount of intrigue with Allar because of his resiliency, and he’s the kind of player I’d love to bring in and chase that potential.”
“At 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds, he completed nearly 65% of his passes over his career,” Tannenbaum added. “There is enough of a foundation to work from and to try to develop for the future.”
That foundation includes impressive career numbers: 7,402 passing yards, 61 touchdowns against just 13 interceptions, and a 63.2% completion rate that ranks first in Penn State history. In 2024, Allar led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinal, throwing for 3,327 yards with 24 touchdowns. His 2023 campaign produced a 12.5-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
At the combine, Allar threw but didn’t participate in athletic testing due to his ankle. He says doctors expect the surgically repaired joint to come back stronger than before.
On PFSN’s Big Board, despite their arm talents, Allar is currently ranked fifth among quarterbacks, while Green is ranked tenth.
Both quarterbacks carry risk as Green’s accuracy issues won’t disappear overnight, and Allar’s regression in 2025 raises questions about his ability to elevate bad situations. But in Round 4, the approach shifts as the teams aren’t drafting for immediate gains; instead, they’re drafting for potential ceilings.
