USFL Player Evaluation of Penn State QB Drew Allar Scouting Report by Carter Flaer
Drew Allar is one of the more intriguing prospects in this year’s NFL Draft. Coming out of high school in Medina, Ohio, Allar was a 5 Star recruit and ranked the #1 QB in the country by 247 Sports. He chose to commit to Penn State over other Power 4 schools like Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. In college, he started at Penn State for three seasons, where he was a 2023 and 2024 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and finished as a semifinalist for the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award, amassing 7,402 career passing yards, 61 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. One of Allar’s biggest question marks going into the draft will be his health. He was healthy throughout high school and most of his college career, but in a game against Northwestern in his senior season, he suffered a broken ankle, which caused him to miss the rest of the year.
Allar will be 22 years old at the time of the NFL Draft and has all the intangibles that you cannot coach that an NFL team would want. He is 6’5”, 235 lbs, towering over most NFL quarterbacks. He uses this huge frame to his advantage when he is escaping the pocket or running downfield. I believe this to be the best part of his game. He has an elite presence in the pocket and can sense pressure very well. He knows when to step up, where to step up, and keeps his eyes downfield while under duress. If he ultimately decides to scramble, he will never put anyone into a spin cycle or beat anyone with immense speed, but defenses will always need at least 2-3 guys to bring him down, and he will always fight for extra yardage. If he stays behind the line of scrimmage, he is very good at improvisation and finding a gap to either throw a completion or just throw it away, out of harm’s way. He has a very good deep ball too, and is not afraid to trust his receivers and throw an accurate ball that only they can catch. He has good accuracy on short throws as well, though his medium throws leave a lot to be desired. He has adequate accuracy while throwing on the run, but that is to be expected for any quarterback coming out of college. Pre-snap, he will make adjustments based on what the defense is showing and clearly communicate to his receivers, running backs, and offensive line what he is seeing and what needs to be done. For the most part, Allar’s decision-making is solid, but he often struggles during late-game situations. Most notably, he threw a deep ball interception toward the end of the 2024 Big Ten Championship game that essentially sealed the game for Oregon. He has similar struggles in their 2025 game at UCLA and at home vs Oregon.
Scheme Fit and Team Fit:
Allar would fit extremely well in a West Coast-style offense where he can dish it out to receivers and make big plays. He would be a great fit with the Los Angeles Rams or the Kansas City Chiefs.
Projection/NFL Player Comp: Josh Allen
Drew Allar’s most accurate player comparison is Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills. Allen boasts a similar frame to Allar, standing at 6’5”, 237 lbs. Allen was drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft by Buffalo, and threw for 10 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 2,074 yards, while rushing for 8 touchdowns and 631 yards in just 12 games his rookie year, but quickly developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Allen and Allar obviously share similar builds, but they also have similar strengths and weaknesses. Neither guy is the fastest in the world, but they both know when and where to step up in the pocket, when and where to run, are hard to bring down, and will always fight for extra yardage. Allen also has an elite deep ball and zip on his passes, while occasionally making mistakes in important moments.
Projection:
Allar will be a serviceable backup/role player in the league. He has strengths that NFL GMs will love, like his size and running ability, and his weaknesses are coachable, like his decision-making, but he will never be a franchise quarterback for a successful team.
Grade and Round Projection: 5, 4th Round Pick.
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