Does Drew Allar hold advantage over Will Howard entering QB battle?

With a lot of uncertainty in the air regarding whether or not Aaron Rodgers will return to Pittsburgh next year, and the Steelers reportedly frustrated over the delay, what comes next for the Steelers at quarterback is a loaded question. But among the players we know for certain will be entering the competition this offseason, one national analyst favors rookie Drew Allar.

The Steelers drafted Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Veteran Mason Rudolph is on the roster as well, but the main competition in the battle for Allar is Will Howard, who was a sixth-round draft pick in 2025. And CBS Sports' analyst Mike Renner is much higher on Allar than he is on Howard.

“I was incredibly low on Howard,” Renner said Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan. “I don’t even think it’s close (as compared to Allar). I thought Howard was a backup at best. He was just very robotic. He did not have the fluid athleticism of a Drew Allar. I saw a guy who was, I thought, was gonna struggle with out-of-structure stuff at the NFL level, and just creating anything out of tight pockets, either. So I was not a Will Howard guy. I was truthfully surprised with where the Steelers even picked him last year.”

“I thought the Allar pick was a worthwhile swing,” Renner said. “Allar, I think, if you would’ve said that this guy was a third-round pick as a sophomore after what he did that year, you just would’ve been surprised. If (you said) that’s how he would’ve ended his career, I think a lot of people would’ve been surprised by that, because he was on a much higher trajectory.”