June 7, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET

There was arguably no pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ 2026 NFL Draft class more polarizing than the third-round selection of quarterback Drew Allar, but one NFL analyst believes he could emerge as an absolute steal.

According to CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson, Allar has a strong chance of exceeding expectations based on a few different factors.

“Because after digging through the data, revisiting the tape and examining the situation he’s walking into in Pittsburgh, I came away believing Allar has a much better chance of outperforming his draft slot than I did a few weeks ago,” Wilson wrote. “And, look, the flaws remain. But what changed for me is how fixable many of those flaws appear to be, given the team that drafted him.”

Wilson pointed out that quarterbacks with more starting experience, like Allar, found more success when transitioning to the NFL. He also highlighted Allar’s 37.9% first-down rate as a selling point.

Arguably Wilson’s strongest argument for why Allar could outperform his draft slot was his fit with Pittsburgh, specifically with a proven quarterback guru in Mike McCarthy.

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“And the more I looked at the fit in Pittsburgh – and the story the data were telling – the more it started to make sense,” Wilson wrote. “Pittsburgh isn’t asking him to be the answer on Day 1. He’s walking into a stable organization, a quarterback-friendly system and a coaching staff with a long history of developing talented, imperfect passers. Just as important: the issues that pushed him down my board – footwork, pocket discipline, processing under pressure and operational consistency – are the same areas Mike McCarthy has spent decades coaching.”

Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if Allar emerges as the future successor of Aaron Rodgers. He has all the physical traits in the world and will spend a season developing behind one of the best quarterback-developing head coaches the NFL has to offer. But it would be disappointing if Will Howard isn’t at least given a look before the Steelers make that decision.

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