NFL Draft
12/1/24
8 min read
Drew Allar 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Penn State Nittany Lions QB
Height: 6050 (unofficial)
Weight: 235 (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Wyoming Josh Allen
Scouting Overview
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar has perhaps the best tools of any quarterback eligible for the 2025 Draft. He has prototypical physical gifts — ranging from his powerful arm, prototypical size, and ability to extend plays as a traditional pocket passer.
Watching him navigate through pressure gives ample flashes of a passer who can make something out of nothing and will always have the full field at his disposal, regardless of down and distance situation or throwing platform. There’s been significant growth in Allar’s game, with more significant growth needed for him to play at a consistent enough level to warrant being a starter in the NFL.
Teams looking for a plug-and-play starter should tread carefully, but those with a consistent system and coaching structure should not wait too long in their bids to get their hands on him. He has all of the position's uncoachable elements and, in the right environment, could grow and develop into an impact starter.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Has the most explosive arm of this year’s passers. Capable of driving throws to the field with an off-platform flick of the wrist
- He showcases a very good ability to extend plays courtesy of his size. Will shrug off defenders and get outside the pocket
- Illustrated significant growth from 2023 to 2024 — putting his growth rate on a promising trajectory amid a scheme change ahead of junior year
Negatives
- Accuracy is still far too scattershot, leaving yards on the field. Will need continued fundamental and technical development for muscle memory with throwing pattern
- Footwork can betray him at the top of the drop, further complicating his spray chart variance and precision accuracy
- Anticipation can continue to expand with more reps. Is, at times, more of a visual passer and processor
Background
Allar is a prototypical pocket passer from Medina, OH, who played high school football for Medina HS. There, he was awarded Ohio’s Mr. Football award in 2021 en route to becoming one of the top overall recruits in the country for the recruiting Class of 2022. Allar, initially graded as a 3-star recruit, was rated as a 5-star recruit by the end of his high school career (247 Sports) — passing for more than 9,000 career yards and nearly 100 touchdowns.
Allar was an early enrollee at Penn State, joining the program for the spring semester in 2022 and taking on the backup quarterback role to veteran Sean Clifford. He took just 60 pass attempts in his freshman season, playing in nine total games.
Allar assumed the starting role in 2023 and finished tied for the conference lead in touchdown passes (25) in his first season as a starter, throwing just two interceptions in the process while leading Penn State to a 10-3 record. The Nittany Lions made an offensive coordinator change after Allar’s sophomore season, hiring Andy Koteinicki from Kansas to run the offense moving forward.
Allar’s play saw a leap in efficiency as a result. His completion percentage leaped more than 12 points from 2023 to 2024. Allar led Penn State to a Big Ten Championship Game berth and an 11-win regular season for the first time since 2008.
Tale Of The Tape
If quarterback development is the type of thing you have a lot of confidence in pulling off, this could be the bet you want to place. Allar oozes potential and physical ability on tape.
He is an impressive thrower of the football, capable of generating velocity out of nowhere, and has the ability to get off all kinds of throws on the move. This trait forces passiveness at times from defenders, or else run the risk of having a ball put over your head or a receiver unexpectedly cutting across your face into space. The outside-of-structure capabilities are well within reach of some of the best in the game.
One of Allar's challenges as a passer is simply getting him on the ground. This is not a quick-twitch athlete within the pocket, but his ability to slide and shrug off defenders who get free runs at his throwing platform has echoes of Big Ben and Josh Allen, along with the big arm.
Of course, there is much more to the position than just shrugging off a free runner — but this is a player who will require a disciplined rush plan in defending him in the pocket. Teams can aspire, early on, to cage-rush him and force him to make precision throws and decisions inside the pocket and test his consistency and discipline.
Allar is a surprisingly efficient passer in the red zone across two separate schemes. His college passer rating efficiency is pushing 200.0, and his completion percentage is more than 65 percent across 2023 & 2024 combined. Some of these efficiencies are fueled by the effectiveness of his tight end and running backs in the passing game, where he has capitalized on rubs and naked boot action with rapid winners to the flat. But Allar’s ability to pivot off his spot or, conversely, throw heat in tight spaces in the red area where everything happens fast allows him to find impressive success in the scoring area.
Despite the major leaps in accuracy and efficiency, this is still a player with a lot of room to grow. In-stride opportunities on shallow crosses, in-breakers, basics, and other variations of “run away” routes against man coverage too often pull a receiver back into a defender playing trail or force a receiver to elevate and extend beyond their immediate catch radius to make a play on the football.
There are issues with missing high, too — and process dictates that can be a recipe for turnovers even though the results have yet to consistently yield them. The accuracy and consistency are major blockades for Allar, from the player he is to the player he can be.
Accuracy issues appear to stem from a number of mechanical deficiencies and irregularities. At times, he is far too reliant on just his arm — because he can be. However, the rotational efficiency on some of these reps forces him to choke the ball and miss with greater variance than what is required for effective play. Some of it appears to be as basic as his footwork and the consistency of being in rhythm with his feet and his eyes alike.
His base can deteriorate through multiple progressions, and at other times, his eyes are so fast through eligibles that he leaves his feet behind. These are all fixable issues, and when everything is clicking together, it can be a picturesque pitch and catch, regardless of the route or the coverage leverage.
It’s also worth noting that Allar operates without much margin for error with much of his passing game at Penn State. The team does not have a lot of consistent man-beaters on the perimeter, which forces him to process muddy pictures more often than preferred.
As such, his toughness to stand in the pocket and take hits while allowing opportunities to develop is admirable and should be considered a big plus. He’s sturdy and has taken some solid shots, bouncing up and not allowing the body blows to add up, which influences his willingness to keep his eyes downfield. This goes for scramble opportunities as well.
Decision-making under duress is another area in which Allar can afford to grow. His toughness and willingness to let things develop do leave him exposed at times, and he can double back into the backfield after contact to try to avoid a sack or alternatively throw a tight window or double-covered target the ball.
Better jurisdiction in these moments would be a welcomed addition. Although you do understand that the constant tightrope of these elements is what can make a player great, too. Processing is, in general, something Allar needs more reps at. At times, he’ll leave his eyes on a preferred target too long and miss secondary progressions.
Other times, he’ll stay dialed on that first eligible and invite zone defenders to throwing lanes and make throws harder on himself. Consistency here is a key to future success.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Allar is a developmental starter with undeniable physical gifts. He could, with proper coaching, step into just about any style of offensive system — although vertically oriented passing attacks will bring out the best of his arm and ability to push the ball.
Allar will benefit from two things at his NFL destination: patience and time to sit and learn the offense and early separators which can take some of the pressure and stress out of needing top-flight anticipation and pinpoint accuracy when he first steps on the field. Those growth areas can be mitigated over time, but if they’re stressed early on, it could create scar tissue in his development.
Grade: 78.50/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
