The late great John Madden used to say that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. Meaning that in a quarterback room, there will always naturally be a leader in the clubhouse that the team gravitates towards.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made it clear and evident that they believe Drew Allar can be that next franchise quarterback when they drafted him in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. In doing so, they set themselves up for an interesting summer that will conclude with a decision being made at quarterback. Will they keep veteran backup Mason Rudolph or go with two quarterbacks who have a combined zero games of NFL experience to sit behind Aaron Rodgers in 2026 by keeping Will Howard? Considering Madden’s theory, along with how difficult it is to develop one quarterback, much less two, Allar should be the team’s sole focus in terms of young quarterbacks.
Of course, there will be those who are on the other side and believe Howard should be QB2. And to be fair, it’s a strong argument to make. We know what Rudolph is, and Howard began OTAs by taking second-team reps. However, it’s far from a forgone conclusion that he makes the roster as some would suggest. He’s a sixth-round pick with an average arm, mid-tier tools, and didn’t take off at the collegiate level until he was surrounded by a swarm of NFL talent. This coaching staff isn’t the one who drafted him, and they used a valuable pick to take Allar three rounds earlier than Howard was taken.
Additionally, we’ve seen the Steelers draft plenty of quarterbacks with more valuable draft capital than Howard whom they clearly had no long-term plans for, as Ben Roethlisberger was in place. Remember Omar Jacobs out of Bowling Green? Pittsburgh took him in the fifth round in 2006 – he never played a game. Dennis Dixon? Fifth-round selection in 2008, largely a third-stringer who played four games in his career. Josh Dobbs was a fourth-round pick and never started a game for the Steelers. Landry Jones was a fourth-round pick, as well, and was an utter disaster.
To compare the talent that Allar had at his disposal to that of Howard, it’s a laughable one-sided affair in favor of Howard. Through Allar’s three seasons as Penn State’s starter, he had a grand total of zero wideouts get drafted. Two of Howard’s wide receivers from his one season with the Buckeyes have been drafted, and Jeremiah Smith will hear his name called next April, likely in the top five. In 2025, Howard had 13 Ohio State teammates hear their name called on draft day – Allar had seven teammates drafted in 2026. Despite no NFL-capable receivers, Allar still finished his collegiate career third all-time in touchdown passes in Penn State history and threw just 13 interceptions in 45 games. He was once expected to be a first-round pick because of the tools he possesses, but a disastrous 2025 for the Nittany Lions, capped off by a season-ending injury to Allar himself, saw his stock take a dip. However, his high-level arm talent and prototypical size put a high floor on Medina, Ohio native, leading to the Steelers investing a premium pick in him.
None of this is to say that Allar will surely work out or that Howard won’t. It is to say, however, that trying to groom two quarterbacks doesn’t work. Fully investing in one guy increases the chances of that quarterback succeeding, and the Steelers need to put all of their eggs in the Drew Allar basket.
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