Drew Allar, Penn State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Allar was a five-star recruit from Medina High School in Medina, Ohio in the class of 2022

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has all the usual traits of a prototypical pocket passer, but his accuracy and ball placement are far below the levels of an NFL starter. Depending on how this year plays out, Allar might forgo the 2025 NFL Draft and return to school for his senior season.

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Drew Allar, QB Penn State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior quarterback from Medina, Ohio

Background: Allar was a five-star recruit from Medina High School in Medina, Ohio in the class of 2022. He was the No. 32 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 70 (four-star) for Rivals, and No. 28 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 51st in the nation with an 86 grade out of 100 (four-star). Allar led Medina to a 13-1 record as a senior and the Greater Cleveland Conference Championship. He was a team captain and won a wide array of awards, including Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Mr. Football, State Offensive Player of the Year, Max Preps Ohio Player of the Year, Greater Cleveland Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Northeast Ohio Inland District Division I Offensive Player of the Year, Cleveland.com Offensive Player of the Year, Medina County MVP, First Team Greater Cleveland Conference honors and First Team All-State honors. That year, Allar completed 305 of 509 passes for 4,444 yards, 48 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while rushing for 382 yards and nine touchdowns on 128 carries. Those totals set the Medina County records for yards and touchdowns. As a junior, Allar earned First Team Ohio Division I and First Team Greater Cleveland Conference honors. He passed for 2,962 yards and 26 touchdowns and punched in two scores on the ground. Allar totaled 1,802 yards and 23 touchdowns through the air as a sophomore. He holds the school and county records for career passing yards (9,103), career passing touchdowns (98), single-season passing yards (4,444), single-season passing touchdowns (48), single-game passing yards (525), and single-game passing touchdowns (five). Allar was invited to the 2022 Adidas All-America Bowl. His father, Kevin, was a tight end for Eastern Michigan from 1992-97.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited 2023 Rutgers game with an unspecified upper body injury

Awards: 2023 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

Pros: Age, prototypical height and size, only four career fumbles, plenty of positive reps quickly working through reads, steps up in the pocket to avoid the rush, willing to throw away and live for another day, good toughness taking hits but still delivering throws, good bend and flexibility in knees, quick and fluid throwing motion, adjusts arm angles and slots to meet throwing lanes, pump fakes to manipulate defenders, some flashes of eye manipulation, flashes of throwing with anticipation, ball explodes off his hand, impressive velocity on throws to far sideline, velocity allows him to beat tight windows, throws tight spirals, softens some throws on routes near LOS, touch to layer ball between second and third levels, good back pylon location on red zone fades, several amazing red zone fades vs. Maryland (2023), big body helps on QB sneaks, enough mobility to make some plays when needed

Cons: Penalized four times in 2023, dips ball back and low during throwing motion, some moments of panic when the first read isn’t open, lower body mechanics break down with pressure closing in, throws while fading away or without setting his base, gets toesy when under pressure, defensive linemen read his eyes to bat balls several times vs. Illinois and Ole Miss (2023), very limited downfield production/opportunities in 2023, unacceptable number of clean misses, trouble controlling his arm, general accuracy is hit-or-miss, inconsistent ball placement, ball placement is behind targets on slants, several low and wide misses by large margins on comebacks and outs, so many clean misses vs. Ohio State (2023), overthrew an open 20-yard post route for a would-be TD vs. Illinois (2023), late throws to the sideline allow DBs to undercut passing receiver, arrives late to throws when rolling out resulting in near interceptions, throws on the run are low, drops his head to roll out or scramble when pocket collapses, lacks open field speed to pull away from defenders, not an elusive runner

Overview: Allar is a young prospect coming off his first season as a full-time starter for Penn State. He offers prototypical height and size for a pocket passer and rarely puts the ball in harm’s way as a passer or runner. Allar dips the ball back during his throwing motion, exposing it to defenders who are screaming off the edge for potential strip-sacks. There are plenty of positive reps where Allar quickly works through his reads, but there are also plays when he panics after seeing his first read isn’t open. His lower body mechanics break down under pressure, leading to rapid and random footwork and awkward off-platform throws. Allar is one of the better quarterbacks at stepping up and managing the pocket in the 2025 class, but he will still throw while fading away or without setting his base. This is especially a problem under pressure. Fortunately, the Ohio native knows when a play has busted and throws the ball away. He still takes a decent number of hits, but that’s when being 6'5", 241 lbs. comes into play. Allar is tough and doesn’t mind taking a hit if it means throwing to an open receiver. He has a quick and fluid throwing motion and adjusts his arm angles to fit the ball through various throwing lanes. The junior pump fakes and sometimes uses eye manipulation to manipulate defenders. He also has flashes of throwing with anticipation. Allar has a cannon for an arm. The ball explodes off his hand with excellent velocity to puncture tight windows. He also has the touch to soften throws to receivers near the line of scrimmage and to layer the ball between the defense’s levels. This touch shows up on red zone fades, which he does an excellent job placing toward the back pylon. The former five-star recruit just has an unacceptable number of clean misses. His accuracy and ball placement are clearly a cut or two below the top quarterback prospects. Allar struggles to control his arm, which leads to some wild throws with limited touch. His ball placement is behind the receiver on slants, and he misses comeback or out routes low and wide. Allar missed far too many open throws against Ohio State (2023). He arrives late to throws toward the sideline, which allows cornerbacks to undercut the throwing lane. Allar also throws the ball late when rolling out, opening the door for turnovers. His throws on the run arrive too low for their target to catch. Penn State didn’t let Allar throw downfield much in 2023 despite his arm strength. The All-Big Ten honorable mention has the size to execute quarterback sneaks and enough mobility to make plays when needed, but he’s not elusive and lacks impressive speed. To be fair to Allar, his pass catchers didn’t help him much. Penn State’s pass catchers dropped 28 of Allar’s passes in 2023, which was the most in the Power Five.

Overall, Allar is a prototypical pocket passer who flashed throwing with anticipation and manipulating defenses with his eyes in his first year as a full-time starter. Unfortunately, he hasn’t mastered his powerful arm yet. Allar’s general accuracy and ball placement are subpar, and his lower body mechanics are prone to break down. He will likely need his 2025 senior season to clean up his game.

Role & Scheme Fit: Pocket passer in a 12-personnel heavy system

Round Grade: Fourth Round

Size: 6'5", 241 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 06-19-24