Rookie quarterback Drew Allar looked a lot better at practice under the lights Saturday night. The Pittsburgh Steelers have one person to thank for helping Allar show improvement — starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Allar explained to reporters after practice that he has been using Rodgers as a resource on his deep-ball mechanics. Passes 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage helped fuel the rookie’s elite practice session Saturday.
“I felt really good, and it’s been something I’ve been working on, in terms of the trajectory of the throw,” Allar told the media, via 93.7 The Fan. “I’ve been picking Aaron’s brain on it [for] like a week or so.
“So, to kind of be able to have the chance to do it in a live setting even though it’s 7-on-7, but against live DBs in tight coverage, I felt really good.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter called it Allar’s “best practice” of training camp.
“Saturday night, Allar looked sharp in both 7-on-7 and full team situation practice periods with delivering his deep ball,” wrote Carter.
QB Drew Allar Delivers ‘Best Practice’ of Steelers Training Camp
GettyAccording to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Drew Allar had his best training camp practice Saturday.
The rookie signal-caller has steadily shown improvement with his mechanics, especially his footwork, since the Steelers drafted him. Allar really displayed that improvement Saturday in an area where he never really excelled very much during his college career.
“His first big throw of the night was a well-placed 25-yard strike to Robert Tonyan down the seam of the defense that hit the ninth-year tight end in stride,” wrote Carter. “The next play, Allar followed that with another accurate deep ball down the right sideline for a 30-yard completion to a leaping Brandon Smith in tight coverage.”
Allar also connected with Brandon Smith for another 20-yard completion on a crossing pattern. In addition to Rodgers, the rookie quarterback gave props to the veteran targets after his strong practice showing.
“Bobby [Tonyan] and B Smith had great catches on those, too, so I wouldn’t be able to do that without them,” Allar told reporters.
On Saturday, Carter described Allar as struggling “to find consistency” during Steelers training camp. One strong practice isn’t consistency. But perhaps it’s the start of something very positive for the third-round pick.
Aaron Rodgers, Other Veterans Helping Young QBs
GettyAaron Rodgers is mentoring the young quarterbacks for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fellow young Steelers signal-caller Will Howard spoke a lot last season about Rodgers helping him as a rookie. So, it is unsurprising Rodgers is making himself available for Allar this summer.
As Allar explained, other more established players are also assisting the Steelers young quarterbacks.
In addition Tonyan’s big reception from Allar, the tight end linked up with Howard for a big play Saturday.
“Tonyan had run an out-and-up route against safety Sebastian Castro,” wrote Carter. “Howard threw a ball to Tonyan’s back shoulder, which allowed the veteran tight end to adjust to the pass behind Castro, catch the ball and keep running for yards after the catch.”
Allar and Howard aren’t necessarily competing for the same roster spot. But they are competing for depth chart positioning. Each quarterback getting the same help will assist the Steelers coaching staff in choosing the right signal-caller for the more prominent role this fall.
More than likely, either Allar or Howard will be Pittsburgh’s QB3 this season.
Aaron Rodgers Helps Fuel Drew Allar’s ‘Best Practice’ at Steelers Training Camp