Today is going to be the start of a series in which I am going to be analyzing at least one draft prospect every single day leading up to the 2025 NFL draft.
The first prospect I’m going to be analyzing is none other than the Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback, Drew Allar. Last year was Drew Allar‘s first year as a starter, in which he had 25 passing touchdowns to only two interceptions with another four touchdowns on the ground to add to it. He led Penn State to a 10-2 regular season record, only losing to the Michigan Wolverines who went onto win the National Championship, as well as the number 3 ranked Ohio State University. Drew Allar did fall short of victory against Jaxson Dart and the Ole Miss Rebels in the Chick-fil-A peach bowl in a close game as well though. Despite the losses, Drew Allar has certainly proven that he can be a winning quarterback taking down the 24th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes as well as all of his other opponents.
Drew Allar is a guy that’s somewhat tough to analyze as he only has one year under his belt as a starter, nonetheless for what he was able to accomplish during his very first year has truly stood out to me. Penn State didn’t have Drew air it out every single game like most colleges do, so Allar didn’t have the most passing yards with just over 2.5 thousand however that did not stop Drew Allar from slinging the rock all around the field and making incredible plays whenever the ball was in his hands. Allar was able to make every single throw whether it would be a deep bomb with a defender in his face, or a rifle on the run downfield into tight coverage.
Drew Allar is only 20 years old and his development year to year even for when he was in high school has been very apparent and his work ethic to improve truly stands out. If you’re looking for a prospect that you can develop at the next level, you can look no further than Drew. Allar is 6’5 and about 240 pounds with one of the strongest arms in the class. I expect Drew to take a massive jump in his second year starting as a junior for Penn State. I am much higher on Drew based on what I’ve seen than maybe anybody else who analyzed him, as I believe there’s a chance Allar can take a big enough jump to even be the first overall pick in the draft. To me Allar has shown that he can command an offense, he can play hero ball if needed, but he also is comfortable in a “game manager” role as he keeps the ball out of harm’s way at an impeccable level only having two interceptions on about 450 attempts. Drew can use his legs or he can zip a ball in anywhere on the field at a very efficient level.
His accuracy is not a question for me whatsoever, but he does need to develop his consistency in fundamentals a tad bit. One thing that held back his completion percentage massively was his lack of a dynamic weapon on the offense as his receivers often failed to get any separation. As a prospect looking towards the NFL, those are things that any warranted coaching staff should be able to fix as they are things that are easily coachable and dependent on the surrounding roster. Allar has an extremely quick throwing motion able to sling a ball anywhere in the blink of an eye. He’s a smart player who has shown to easily read a defense with quick and often pre-snap adjustments for the receivers or blocking assignments. His pocket presence has also proved to be pristine as he effortlessly navigates the pocket and seemingly always knows where to go as if he has eyes in the back of his head. You can see Allar’s feel for the game with his timing and placement of throws knowing exactly when to throw it which stands out especially against zone coverages, and always putting it in the right spot to give his receivers a chance, keeping it away from the defenders which is part of the reason for his stupendously low interception total.
Drew Allar is a great kid with fantastic leadership who truly pushes his team to be the best they possibly can both on and off the field. Allar has struggled to be vocal in the past, but has broken through that shell. Even before that though he always lead by example and put in more work than anyone on the team. From a personal level, to what I’ve seen on tape, to the athletic profile Drew has shown to me that he’s a guy that is going to take an incredible leap in his junior year and cement himself as one of the top quarterbacks in this draft class, if not the very best.
My bold prediction leads to my projection which has Drew Allar throwing for 34 passing touchdowns and 3,400 passing yards this upcoming season. I also project him to add another 5 scrambling touchdowns making for 39 total, to just 4 interceptions, while increasing his completion percentage from 59.9 last year to 74.1 in his 2024 campaign. I also currently am projecting Penn State to go 11-1 this upcoming year, only losing to Ohio State University. I am currently under the belief that Drew Allar will boost his stock into the top half of the 1st round, and I strongly believe he has 1st overall upside. Of course, these are only projections before a single game of college football has been played this year, and things are subject to change. That especially is true when discussing a boom or bust prospect such as Drew Allar who is going to either turn heads in an amazing fashion, or fall flat and make this article look like nonsense. I am extremely excited to watch Drew Allar this upcoming year though, and I most certainly will be revisiting him later on in the process once he gets some games under his belt, as Allar might just be my personal favorite quarterback of this next draft class.