Drew Allar and His Spotty Accuracy

One thing is for sure ⎯Penn State quarterback (QB) Drew Allar sure looks the part as they say in scouting.

That’s the draw.

He has the big arm, prototype size, and good athleticism, especially for his size.

However, playing the part is a different story, thanks to Allar’s inconsistent footwork in the pocket.

Everything traced back to this issue, including the play calls.

Conservative approach

With Allar’s pronounced size and arm strength, I didn’t expect to see a more conservative QB than former Michigan and Vikings first-round QB J.J. McCarthy.

But, I did.

Allar is a textbook inconsistent dink and dunk quarterbacking. He’s one of the least explosive quarterbacks I’ve ever studied.

It’s not due to a lack of effort either. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn deep going 7/26 (26.9%) on +19 yard attempts that I charted during my season-long study.

Putting Allar into further perspective ⎯last season, McCarthy produced 2,991 yards, which ranked him No. 35 in the nation.

Allar threw for 2,631 yards, ranking him No. 55.

McCarthy averaged 9.0 yards per pass attempt, while Allar averaged 6.8 yards.

Yikes.

Airballs

Worse yet, was the number of airballs Allar threw throughout 2023.

I can’t say I’ve seen a QB throw so many airballs in a season. A good number of his passes landed too far off target. He was missing some of his throws by wide margins.

It wasn’t a good look.

The issue persisted to the point commentators talked about it.

Where’s the YAC?

Allar does not often put his receivers in ideal situations to pick up yardage after catches (YAC).

One of the most important traits an NFL QB can have is consistent accurate ball placement and Allar doesn’t have that. His throwing locations were all over the place ⎯high, low, and behind receivers too many times.

Allar lacked touch and relied too heavily on his arm strength, attempting to steer the ball rather than relying on traditional equally distributed throwing mechanics that fully utilized his upper and lower body when releasing.

Not calm, cool, and accurate under pressure

Allar wasn’t good with pressure in his face and when he was being flushed out of the pocket.

He does his best work in structure and from a clean pocket when he can step into his throws and drive the ball.

Unfortunately, that ideal throwing environment doesn’t exist often enough in the real football world.

Flashes of optimism

So far, I’ve been down on Allar, but there were times he flashed reasons to hope.

He slightly grew on me for this reason.

There were throws where he did step into his passes and delivered some zingers. There were some other good throws too, like this one shown.

#15 Drew Allar 6-foot-5, 243 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2024 Summer Grade: Fifth-Round (I wouldn’t select him)

Projected by 24.2% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of May 20, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Game film reviewed (2023): Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Illinois, West Virginia, Rutgers, Maryland, UMASS, Indiana, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Delaware, and Northwestern (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Injury vs. Rutgers

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Robotic and competitive prospect who stands tall in the pocket and doesn’t give up. Natural leadership vibe. Game manager type. Too inconsistent throwing at all three route levels, short, intermediate, and deep. Produced 28 PBUs in 13 games (2.15 game avg.). Looked inexperienced. Raw. Best in quick-tempo short-range offense. Decent on designed rollouts. Can go through progressions. A very systematic and rigid approach while setting up in the pocket. Depends on his process. Too methodical. Actions aren’t fast or decisive looking enough when setting up. Lacks throwing instincts. Best throw is slant patterns. Puts too much air underneath his deep passes. Average football running speed. Not a running quarterback by trade, but he’s willing to pick up some tough yards out of necessity. Looks like a prospect who was trained to be a QB, not born to be one. Third-string ceiling at this point.

What to watch for during the 2024 college football season

1. More decisive looking in the pocket?

2. Consistently throwing off his back foot?

3. Less air under his deep passes?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.