After Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Pittsburgh Steelers were left facing a major question at quarterback. They have made strides since then, but their efforts have not yielded strong results. However, they are still trying, and their latest addition to the quarterback room was Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. While he possesses impressive physical tools, fans have not held back in pointing out his flaws. Adding to those concerns now is Roethlisberger himself.

“It does make me nervous,” Roethlisberger said on the Footbahlin podcast on May 27, 2026. “I watch some of the things they have been doing with Drew Allar at practice, like working on his drop. I’m not trying to knock the QB school that Coach McCarthy does. I know Aaron has gone through it in Green Bay, and he spoke highly about it, but to me, when I watch him do those three-step drops, it makes me incredibly nervous because you are refining things.”

Drew Allar’s first few days at the Steelers rookie minicamp have already sparked plenty of conversation, and not all of it has been positive.

During the drills, Allar was spotted performing the three-step drop, taking a lateral step, and then delivering a fast throw. He moved through the drill at half speed while the coaching staff worked on rebuilding parts of his mechanics from the ground up.

However, the process of rebuilding Allar’s mechanics didn’t please everyone. According to Roethlisberger, watching the Steelers coaching staff teach Allar basic passing skills made him nervous.

“And so maybe they’re just working on like his three-step drop to be more efficient,” Roethlisberger added. “But it looked to me like it was, I mean, the baby steps teaching, and I, and again I’m just this is from a 30,000, I mean, I’m watching someone on a video. I can’t hear anything. I’m not doing so I could be completely wrong, but I’m just and all I say all I’m saying is that it makes me a little nervous to watch it.”

Still, Roethlisberger stopped short of criticizing the coaching approach, acknowledging that the methods being implemented have helped quarterbacks succeed before.

Mike DeFabo of The Athletic shared similar concerns after watching practice.

“This is a guy (Drew Allar) who’s not ready to play at the NFL level. They need to do considerable work with some of his mechanics, specifically his lower half of his footwork,” DeFabo said on the 93.7 The Pomp and Joe Show. “I’ve seen Drew Allar throw a handful of passes, but a lot of those were inaccurate passes. He’s not, to me, looked great. He’s looked like a guy that is 6-5 and has 10-inch hands and has an unbelievable arm, but also needs a lot of work,”

The Steelers drafted Allar because they saw traits you simply can’t coach. At 6-foot-5 with a cannon for an arm, the former five-star recruit looked like the kind of quarterback teams dream about developing into a franchise star. However, those traits haven’t consistently shown up on the practice field.

The viral practice clip only added fuel to the discussion. But former NFL quarterback Ben DiNucci later explained that the “clunky” footwork people criticized was actually intentional and part of the drill itself.

For now, Allar’s NFL journey is already being judged under a microscope, even before his first real snap.

Colin Cowherd raises concerns about Drew Allar

Drew Allar came into Pittsburgh with the pressure of being a third-round pick. Even before he has taken a meaningful snap, the questions about his long-term future with the team are already beginning to pile up. It is normal for teams to start their training camps with four QBs, but once the regular season kicks in, things change. As far as McCarthy is concerned, there is a high possibility that there will only be three.

With Aaron Rodgers leading the pack, Mason Rudolph providing the veteran presence, and Will Howard showing promise for the future, Allar is now forced to compete in a room where there is very little room for him.

Analyst Colin Cowherd did not hold back while discussing the former Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback.

“I remember years ago, people liked this Christian Hackenberg out of Penn State, and I said on the air — it was probably the meanest thing I ever said — but I’m like, ‘He cannot play in the NFL.” Colin Cowherd said, via Steelerwire, “I watched him play 10 times in college. He is not a professional. He doesn’t have the instincts or the feel for the position.’ I don’t know what happened to the kid, but it didn’t work. Drew Allar is one of those guys. I just don’t see the instincts.”

It is the kind of comparison no young quarterback wants to hear. Christian Hackenberg entered the league with promise as a second-round pick but never managed to make an impact in the NFL.

On paper, Allar’s college career looked impressive. He threw for 7,402 passing yards with 61 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions. But throughout his time at Penn State, concerns about his accuracy, decision-making, and performances in big games continued to follow him. A season-ending ankle injury during his final year only added to the uncertainty.

Now, with scrutiny building around every practice and every throw, Allar’s rookie season already feels like one of Pittsburgh’s biggest storylines.