Remember back in 2020 when the Green Bay Packers opted not to tell Aaron Rodgers that they were selecting Jordan Love in the first round of the draft with the 26th overall pick? For those who may have forgotten, the future Hall of Famer was watching the opening round play out on television that night when he received a text from his agent just before the pick came in, with the message simply saying "Quarterback."
Well, here we are six years later, and one now has to wonder if the four-time NFL MVP was clued in before the Pittsburgh Steelers took Penn State signal-caller Drew Allar on Friday night in Round 3 at No. 76 overall.
Now, the situations obviously aren't entirely comparable, as Rodgers was still under contract with Green Bay when Love was drafted as his eventual successor. As everyone knows, he currently has no contract with Pittsburgh, as, to the shock of absolutely nobody, he's taking his sweet time deciding whether to return for a second season with the Steelers, which would be his 22nd overall, or to just go ahead and call it a career.
That situation has been a bit of a wild ride over the last week or so, which we'll break down further in just a moment, and this Allar selection only adds to the overall drama.
Aaron Rodgers would seemingly still be the starter for the Steelers if he wants to be
A few days ahead of the draft, it was reported that the Steelers have absolutely no idea which way Rodgers was leaning in his decision and that there was no indication that anything would change before the festivities got underway in the Steel City on Thursday night.
There were some wild rumors floating around that the organization was going to trot Rodgers out ahead of the first round to announce his return, but in no way, shape, or form does that sound like anything Aaron would enjoy. And it obviously never came to fruition.
There was reportedly some movement in the other direction, however, as Mike Florio told 93.7 The Fan that Rodgers "is irritated that they talk about him," which is just comedic gold if it's true, as the Steelers wouldn't have to talk about him if he just made up his mind.
Pittsburgh obviously had no choice but to talk about him on Friday before deciding to draft Allar, and to be a fly on the wall in that draft room would have been absolutely epic. Because, despite what the movie Draft Day would have you believe, head coaches typically have some say in the process. And who holds that role right now? Yep, that would be former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.
While the two seem to be on good enough terms these days, it's certainly no secret that, despite everything they accomplished together, Rodgers and McCarthy didn't always get along in Green Bay. So, when Pittsburgh GM Omar Khan perhaps looked to his head coach for advice on Allar, McCarthy is likely the one who pulled the trigger on this.
As for what Allar brings to the table, he was considered a first-round talent a year ago at this time, as he'd thrown for 5,958 yards and 49 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions between the 2023 and 2024 collegiate campaigns.
The only reason he dropped to the third round is that he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in October. In the six games in which the Ohio native did appear for the Nittany Lions, he completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns against three picks.
So, the kid's got talent and could very well be the future QB1 in the Steel City. Rodgers would seemingly still be the starter if he opted to sign, which he didn't do until June last year, by the way, but Allar's addition to a QB room that already includes veteran Mason Rudolph and 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard only adds more intrigue to this ongoing saga.
We'll now just have to wait and see what happens, but when it comes to Aaron Rodgers, everyone is used to that by now.
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