The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently in the midst of a staredown with free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was given a rare unrestricted free agent tender that will land the Pittsburgh Steelers a compensatory pick if he signs elsewhere before training camp.
While the saga continues with Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers have a couple of young arms to get a look at during their offseason program, including third-round pick Drew Allar out of Penn State.
The opinions of Allar have been all over the place when it comes to his NFL projection. Some feel like what he showed at Penn State proved he's hopeless moving to the professional level, while others feel like Allar's talent can still be developed, and he has starter traits. The Steelers did more than throw a dart at Allar by drafting him 76th overall, and a recent report from ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler indicates they might have even higher hopes for him internally.
Pittsburgh Steelers compare Drew Allar's arm talent to a young Joe Flacco
In a recent report going over all 32 teams after the draft, Fowler made a fascinating note about the Allar pick for the Steelers, indicating that the team itself views Allar's arm talent being comparable to a young Joe Flacco:
"With third-round quarterback Drew Allar, the Steelers are betting big on coach Mike McCarthy's quarterback development to fix Allar's footwork. "He's really got a good feel for what that takes," a team source said of McCarthy's touch in this area. Pittsburgh believes Allar has similar arm talent to a young Joe Flacco."
- Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
Let's keep a few things in mind, here.
McCarthy has a pretty good track record to trust that he can do what this report claims. He was head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the development phase of Aaron Rodgers' career. He helped Dak Prescott take his game to the next level when he became head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
As hopeless as some seem to believe Allar is heading to the next level, we all know it only takes one NFL team to believe in a prospect, and the Steelers clearly have some faith that Allar can reach his potential at the next level. It might not be immediately, but there's no question that he has the talent.
It's the electric arm talent that had everyone talking about Allar in the first place. When Joe Flacco was coming out back in 2008 (which feels like a lifetime ago), the Ravens took him in the 1st round despite the fact that he played his college ball at Delaware. The reason the Ravens took that risk on him was the fact that Flacco brought to the table two things you can't teach when it comes to the quarterback position: Size and arm talent.
If Allar's arm is that good, it's worth the 3rd-round investment from the Steelers to see what they can get out of him. He might end up living up to the lofty potential some had for him after all.
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