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STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 11: Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions passes the ball during the fourth quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium on October 11, 2025 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Cleveland Browns should never be accused of ignoring the quarterback position. It’s just that they can never get it right, no matter what they do.
Over the years, the Browns have drafted quarterbacks high (Tim Couch and Baker Mayfield at No. 1 overall), and low (Spergon Wynn in the sixth round), signed reclamation projects (Robert Griffin III in 2015), made desperation trades (Deshaun Watson in 2022), and brought in more bridge quarterbacks than imaginable.
Nothing has worked, outside of a brief window with Mayfield, and the Browns now find themselves in 2026 with one of the worst quarterback rooms in the NFL.
The 2026 NFL Draft is looming on the horizon, providing the Browns with another opportunity to address the issue. The problem is, this year’s draft class has more questions than answers, so general manager Andrew Berry may be forced to wait another year.
But if the Browns want to bring in a player with plenty of question marks, they could look to Penn State’s Drew Allar in the later stages of the draft.
Name: Drew Allar
Position: Quarterback
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 228 pounds
College: Penn State Nittany Lions
2025 Stats: 6 games, 64.8 completion percentage, 1,100 passing yards, 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 135.7 quarterback rating
Career Stats: 45 games, 63.2 completion percentage, 7,402 passing yards, 61 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 142.7 quarterback rating
Average “Big Board” Position as of Publishing Date from Mock Draft Database: 115th overall, projected fourth round
The Draft Network’s Grade/Round Value: Round 3 – Adequate Starter
What an Expert is Saying
Allar looks the part with prototypical size and an effortless arm that can make any NFL throw. However, inconsistent touch and ball placement are a major hindrance. In big moments and big games, he hasn’t proven he can rise to the occasion or sustain efficiency. The stats looked good in a conservative offense as a sophomore, but his play became more erratic once the playbook was opened up and more responsibility was put on his plate. He can be slow to process and get to his best option. He also struggles to adjust his pre-snap plan to fit the coverage. It’s worth noting that Allar’s receivers struggled to win man-coverage matchups for him. Against zone, he makes anticipatory throws and beats coverage at an adequate clip. Mechanical fixes are possible, but confidence, poise, and recognition must be the foundation of any rebound. Allar projects as an average backup with high-end traits.
What an Expert is Saying (Bonus Round):
Trevor Sikkema at Pro Football Focus:
At Penn State, he played in nine games as a true freshman, started 12 as a sophomore, 16 as a junior, and six as a senior before a broken left ankle ended his season. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, he passes the eye test of an NFL quarterback. As a pitcher growing up, he said he either struck batters out or walked them. Unfortunately, that also describes how he plays quarterback.
His arm talent is great in both velocity and distance, though he didn’t push the ball very much in 2025. He has the kind of arm that can get him out of trouble because of how quickly the ball leaves his hand. He was a better decision-maker in 2024 and 2025, but it came at the expense of not pushing the ball downfield the way he needed to. He is decent on QB power runs, but when he scrambles, his accuracy takes a big hit.
His overall ball placement has also been shaky, yielding a higher uncatchable, inaccurate-pass percentage and a lower positively graded accuracy-throw percentage. He also simply did not take enough chances in 2025.
Fit with the Browns
Just like in 2017, when people were pounding the table for the Browns to draft Mitch Trubisky because he grew up in Mentor, there will be those advocating for Allar because he grew up as a Browns.
While that makes for a cute story, teams are not in the habit of drafting players based on where they grew up, and there is too much of Allar’s game that raises questions the Browns have no business trying to answer.
Cleveland already has a quarterback on the roster destined to be a career backup; there is no need to add another one when there are so many other roster holes to patch.
Browns Player Drafting Could Impact
If the Browns draft a quarterback, then Dillon Gabriel is likely the odd man out. (He may be anyway.) If the Browns draft a good quarterback, then Shedeur Sanders could be taking his show somewhere else this fall.
Priority: As high as it has ever been.
What are your thoughts on Drew Allar? Should the Browns take a gamble on him? Let us know in the comments!
