Drew Allar's winding path to the NFL reached its destination on Friday, April 24, 2026, when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected the Penn State quarterback with the 76th overall pick in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The selection arrived less than seven months after a season-ending ankle injury appeared to derail the former five-star recruit's career — and it brings one of college football's most accurate passers into Pittsburgh's quarterback room.
Allar, who turns 22 in March, joins the Steelers as the franchise looks to build long-term stability at the game's most important position. Pittsburgh used one of the draft picks it acquired from the Dallas Cowboys in the George Pickens trade to land the Medina, Ohio native, reuniting him with a quarterbacks coach who has tracked his career since he was a teenager.
Steelers Land Allar 76th Overall in the Third Round
The Steelers made Allar their third-round selection on Day 2 of the draft, and the pick was announced by a pair of familiar names in Pittsburgh — Joey Porter Sr. and cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who shared a locker room with Allar at Penn State. Allar will wear No. 16 for the Steelers.
For Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth, the selection marked a full-circle moment. Arth, a former head coach at the University of Akron, said he has followed Allar since the quarterback was a freshman in high school.
"Very excited to have Drew in our room," Arth said. "Drew's a young man who I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know since he was pretty young. I was coaching in college in Ohio at the University of Akron when Drew was in high school, so I've been watching Drew since he was probably 14 or 15 years old. You saw the talent, you saw the ability, you certainly saw the stature and all of those things. To see what he's accomplished and how far he's come is really special for me."
Arth added that Allar's measurables and arm talent separate him in the class. "He's 6-5, 235 pounds and he has big hands," Arth said. "I think he throws it as well as any quarterback in this draft class. He has an effortless arm. He can make every single throw on the field and he's a better athlete than I think he's given credit for."
From Medina to Happy Valley: A Five-Star Rise
Born in Brunswick, Ohio, Allar grew up in nearby Medina, where he became Medina High School's starting quarterback as a sophomore. As a senior in 2021, he completed 305 of 509 passes for 4,444 yards and 48 touchdowns, earned Ohio Mr. Football honors and closed his prep career with 9,103 passing yards and 98 touchdowns.
Initially rated a three-star recruit when he committed to Penn State, Allar's stock climbed to five-star status with 247Sports as his high school film spread. He enrolled early in Happy Valley in January 2022 and spent his freshman season backing up Sean Clifford, appearing in 10 games off the bench.
Allar took over as the starter in 2023 and opened his college career with 311 consecutive passing attempts without an interception — an FBS record that shattered the previous mark of 209 set by Baylor's Robert Griffin III in 2008. He finished his first season as the starter with 2,631 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
A Record-Breaking Career Cut Short
Allar's best season came in 2024, when he started all 16 games and completed 66.5% of his passes for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Penn State to a 13-3 record and a run to the College Football Playoff. His 391-yard performance in an October win at USC was the sixth-most in program history and the most by a Penn State quarterback since 2021.
Entering 2025 as a team captain and a fixture on preseason award watch lists, Allar started the first six games of his senior season. But on October 11, 2025, everything changed. In a stunning 22-21 loss to Northwestern that dropped Penn State to 3-3, Allar suffered an ankle injury that head coach James Franklin later announced would end his season. Because of NCAA regulations, Allar could not medically redshirt, making the injury a college career-ender.
Allar finished his Penn State career as the program's all-time leader in completion percentage (63.2) and interception percentage (1.3). He ranks third in school history in touchdown passes (61), fourth in passing efficiency (142.7) and fourth in passing yards (7,402), having completed 633 of 1,002 attempts across 45 games and 35 starts.
His ball security became a defining trait: in 2023 he joined Tennessee's Hendon Hooker as the only FBS quarterbacks ever to throw 25-plus touchdown passes with two or fewer interceptions in a season, and he posted the lowest single-season interception percentage (0.51) in Penn State history that same year.
Why the Steelers Bet on Allar
Allar's slide to the third round reflects the risk attached to a passer whose final college season lasted just six games. But his accuracy, arm strength and 6-foot-5 frame made him an appealing developmental selection for a team that could afford to be patient. He also fits the archetype Pittsburgh has historically valued: a big, strong-armed pocket passer capable of driving the ball downfield in any weather, a premium in the AFC North.
At the NFL Combine, Allar measured 6-foot-5 1/4 and 228 pounds with a 32 3/4-inch arm span and 9 7/8-inch hands — prototypical size for the position. Those physical tools, combined with a resume that includes an FBS record for interception-free passing and a career completion percentage above 63%, give Pittsburgh a quarterback with a proven floor as a decision-maker.
The Steelers' investment also signals confidence in Allar's recovery from the ankle injury and a belief that his most productive football is still ahead of him. Rather than being thrust into a starting role immediately, Allar can learn the offense and settle in behind the team's incumbent quarterback situation — an ideal landing spot for a passer many evaluators considered one of the draft's most intriguing arms.
What's Next for Allar in Pittsburgh
Allar now enters an offseason in which he will focus on getting fully healthy, absorbing the playbook and earning trust in the locker room under Arth, the coach who first scouted him in Ohio years ago. The immediate goal is simple: show up, compete and prove that the ankle injury is fully behind him.
For the Steelers, the third-round selection represents a low-cost, high-upside bet at the game's most important position. If Allar recaptures the form he showed during his record-setting stretch at Penn State, Pittsburgh may have found a long-term answer behind center — and a homecoming story worth watching.
The Bottom Line
- The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Drew Allar with the 76th overall pick (third round) in the 2026 NFL Draft.
- Allar threw for 7,402 yards and 61 touchdowns in 45 games at Penn State, starting 35.
- He owns the FBS record for most passing attempts without an interception to start a career (311).
- A season-ending ankle injury against Northwestern on Oct. 11, 2025 cut his senior year short.
- Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth has known Allar since he was 14 or 15 years old.
- Pittsburgh used a pick acquired from the Cowboys in the George Pickens trade to select him.
