Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger seems to echo bold Drew Allar, Will Howard take

Well-known analyst Todd McShay of The Ringer raised eyebrows among Pittsburgh Steelers fans and local media members when he made it known that he would "take" 2025 rookie Will Howard over 2026 third-round draft pick Drew Allar.

During the latest edition of his podcast, Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger suggested he agrees with McShay's assessment. 

Why Ben Roethlisberger has this Will Howard, Drew Allar opinion

"Will was a sixth-rounder," Roethlisberger said, per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "[Allar] is a third-rounder. I think this will push Will. When I watch tape, or if I watch games, Will Howard jumped off the tape to me way more than Drew did."

Howard and Allar are unproven commodities as pros. Allar is just starting his NFL career, while Howard took no regular-season snaps during his rookie season. 

Meanwhile, the Steelers seemingly remain confident that Aaron Rodgers will be their starting quarterback for at least the bulk of the 2026 campaign. Howard could serve as Rodgers' primary backup, while Allar could be Pittsburgh's QB3. 

What Ben Roethlisberger didn't see from Drew Allar

"I think he had a lot of hype behind him at one point," Roethlisberger added about Allar. "...I didn't watch a lot of Penn State games. When I did watch, he never jumped off the page to me. Is he big? Can he move? Can he throw? Yeah, but there was never a time when I was like, 'Whoa.'" 

Roethlisberger also mentioned that teams "can get a lot of really good players in the third round" of a draft. While that's true, the Steelers also need to plan for a future that involves knowing that Rodgers won't be their QB1. 

Allar was viewed as a first-round talent not all that long ago, and Penn State allegedly didn't put him "in the best scenario" to succeed. Assuming it is a matter of when and not if Rodgers will rejoin the Steelers for springtime workouts, Allar should be able to spend a handful of months learning from the future Hall of Famer and developing as an unused backup. 

Whether or not Howard has any real future with the Steelers after they drafted Allar shall be seen.