GM Omar Khan opens up about Steelers' Drew Allar NFL Draft decision

Shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, he revealed that he knew he wanted to play for head coach Mike McCarthy after meeting with Pittsburgh coaches at this year's scouting combine. 

During an appearance on the latest edition of the "Deebo & Joe" podcast, Steelers general manager Omar Khan suggested that he, McCarthy and others associated with the franchise felt the same about Allar following their predraft meetings. 

Omar Khan: Drafting Drew Allar "just felt right"

"We met with him at the [NFL] Combine," Khan said about Allar, per Chris Ward of Steelers Now. "I wish you guys could’ve seen just the interaction with him and Coach McCarthy talking ball. It was awesome. We ended up bringing him in for a top-30 visit, and it was the same; it just felt right."

The Steelers' draft decision continues to spark conversations as Aaron Rodgers remains unsigned. It seems to be a matter of when and not if Rodgers will rejoin the Steelers to be their starter for another season, but it also sounds like McCarthy is serious about giving 2025 rookie Will Howard a chance to compete with Mason Rudolph for the primary backup job. 

Thus, the Steelers could have quite a crowded quarterback room during summer training-camp practices. 

Steelers were happy to get Drew Allar at overall pick No. 76

"We were excited to get him," Khan added. "We just knew we had a couple of guys we really liked, Drew being one of them, and we weren’t gonna trade away from ’em. And if they were there at a certain point, we would draft ’em. That’s how we went with Drew. We really like him. The spring was just good for him." 

A Wednesday report shared that the Steelers are "essentially uninstalling everything [Allar has] learned" and "re-uploading their own methods and fundamentals and mechanics." That would lead one to believe Allar is more of a project for the future than an option to play later this fall. 

That said, Khan seems to be hyped about where Allar could be in his development at this time next year.