NFL scouts hit nail on the head with honest critique of Drew Allar’s tenure at Penn State
Not only is the college football world still reeling from Penn State’s loss to Oregon at home in double overtime on Saturday, but NFL scouts were quick to react to what they saw. Happy Valley was loaded with talent on Saturday, and the outcome was a tremendously entertaining affair. Oregon prevailed, 30 to 24, leaving […]
Not only is the college football world still reeling from Penn State’s loss to Oregon at home in double overtime on Saturday, but NFL scouts were quick to react to what they saw. Happy Valley was loaded with talent on Saturday, and the outcome was a tremendously entertaining affair. Oregon prevailed, 30 to 24, leaving Penn State shocked that they’re in this position once again.
At the crux of the conversation is how quarterback Drew Allar played against Oregon. Completing only 14 passes on 25 attempts for 137 yards, Allar was simply not good enough. It continues a trend for him in big games. Despite improving completion rate from his freshman season and reducing the number of turnovers, he’s prone to, someone with great athleticism and a tremendously good arm does not rise to the occasion.
NFL scouts went on record to ESPN’s Matt Miller recently, and here’s what they told the veteran evaluator.
Drew Allar’s 2026 NFL Draft projection suffers hit after Oregon showing
“The line on Allar from scouts is that he’s talented and toolsy with prototypical arm talent and mobility — but that he also fails to rise to the moment. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound signal-caller has played with consistent timing, accuracy and pace from the pocket. But we saw him struggle against top-tier talent last season, and Allar’s play against Oregon was unfortunately what we’ve come to expect when Penn State needs him to carry the team. He went 14-of-25 for 137 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The two scores were encouraging, but the 5.5 yards per attempt and one pick indicate that the game is not slowing down for Allar in his senior season.
“He’s still way too panicked in the pocket. Keep it clean and simple, and he’ll carve you up, but any pressure, and his eyes go to the rush,” is how one NFC East area scout put it.
Name recognition, program legacy and his great physical tools will keep Allar in early-round conversations, but his tape isn’t consistent enough to earn him a starting QB label from NFL teams. I polled six scouts Saturday night, and all of them see him as a likely Round 3 option.”
It’s hard to disagree with anything that either Miller or his sources said. After watching Allar for the last four years, it’s clear that either Penn State does not have the ability to develop him to the level that he needs, or he simply does not have the intrinsic ability to overcome the feeling of pressure.
His accuracy ways, his decision-making gets bogged down, and defenses can reliably be on themselves to force stops. We don’t want to write off Penn State as a pretender just yet, but it is amazing that Allar will hit 50 career starts in the near future and still be a developmental project.
It seemed as though Allar had a chance to be a top-five pick in the last NFL draft for only a moment. His struggles in the college football playoff essentially ended, though that speculation, but the recipe is there for him to be a great NFL player. We will have to see whether he can find the confidence to endure playing through discomfort in pain when pressure comes, or if he’ll look like Tarzan and play like Jane.
