Ben Roethlisberger Not Sold on Steelers Drafting Drew Allar

Ben Roethlisberger remains divided about who should be the face of the Steelers franchise between Will Howard and Drew Allar, but keeps the Ohio State alum ahead for the time being.

Ben Roethlisberger Not Sold on Steelers Drafting Drew Allar

Drew Allar and Ben Roethlisberger inside the circle (Image via IMAGO/X)

In Short
  • Ben Roethlisberger expressed skepticism about the Steelers drafting quarterback Drew Allar, stating he did not stand out during his college career.
  • Allar was a five-star recruit but saw his draft stock drop due to injuries in his final college season.
  • Roethlisberger believes Will Howard, a sixth-round pick, currently has an edge over Allar in the Steelers' quarterback competition.

The Pittsburgh Steelers made some questionable decisions during the recently concluded NFL Draft in their own stadium. The Steelers let slip wide receiver Makai Lemon from their hands and ended up taking Max Iheanachor, an offensive tackle, with their first pick. Then raised a lot of eyebrows by drafting quarterback Drew Allar 76th overall in the third round.

Retired Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is not a fan of his former team selecting Allar. In a recent segment of his Footbahlin podcast, Big Ben revealed that he did not watch Allar even though he played for Penn State.

I think he had a lot of hype behind him at one point. I didn’t watch a lot of Penn State [Nittany Lions] games. When I did watch, he never jumped off the page to me. Is he big? Can he move? Can he throw? Yeah, but there was never a time when I was like, ‘Whoa‘.

Ben Roethlisberger said

According to 247 Sports, Drew Allar was a five-star recruit coming out of high school and rejected big offers before committing to play for Penn State. In four years with the Big 10 program, Allar completed 633 passes from 1002 attempts (63.2%) for 7402 yards, 61 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He also rushed 224 times for 732 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. Allar finished with a healthy 26-9 record.

Allar had the potential to be a first-round prospect. However, injuries in his final year caused his draft stock to plummet.

Back in October 2025, Allar suffered a devastating ankle injury against Northwester that ended his year prematurely. There was chatter that he might appeal to the NCAA for an extra year. But if he had decided to return, then he would have had to play for a different team. That did not happen, and he declared for the draft.

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Ben Roethlisberger’s opinion on Steelers QB situation involving Will Howard and Drew Allar

In 2022, the Steelers drafted the University of Pittsburgh alum Kenny Pickett 20th overall as Roethlisberger’s long-term successor. Injuries limited Pickett’s time on the field.

Ahead of the 2024 season, the Steelers brought in veteran Russell Wilson, and Pickett requested a trade. The Steelers subsequently traded him to the Eagles.

Ben Roethlisberger Not Sold on Steelers Drafting Drew Allar
Drew Allar (Image via IMAGO)

Pittsburgh also signed former Ohio State and Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields to challenge Wilson for the QB1 job. Fields started in week one, but after a few game days, Mike Tomlin replaced him with Wilson. The Steelers went 10-7 and crashed out in the wildcard round.

The following year, the Steelers did not extend Wilson, and Fields refused to return. Tomlin tried to convince four-time league MVP and Super Bowl winner Aaron Rodgers to join the team. While they waited for an answer, the Steelers re-signed Mason Rudolph and drafted another former Ohio State alum, Will Howard.

Rodgers penned a one-year deal. However, the end result remained unchanged from the previous campaign. The Steelers finished 10-7 and were knocked out in the wild card round.

Ahead of the 2026 draft, the Steelers put a tender on Rodgers after not hearing from him since the end of the Super Bowl. Later, selected Allar in the third round. If Rodgers ditches Pittsburgh for good, then new head coach Mike McCarthy has to make a business decision and pick one of the three QBs available to him.

Although a sixth-round draft choice, Roethlisberger believes Howard is ahead of Allar on the food chain at the moment.

Will [Howard] was a sixth-rounder. This is a third-rounder. I think this will push Will. When I watch tape, or if I watch games, Will Howard jumped off the tape to me way more than Drew did.

Roethlisberger said

Howard spent four years at Kansas State before transferring to the Buckeyes before his senior year in college. The Buckeyes went 14-2, with Howard completing 73.0% of his passes for 4010 yards, 42 total touchdowns, and 10 picks.

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