Mike McCarthy’s QB School

7 teams in the first 10 picks could go for a QB. The Steelers are not going to trade anywhere near to getting a top 3 draft QB. Better to do as you said and not try to fill every position in one season. Build the team, don't 'make it competitive'.

 

Do you have an example of this for recent post Big Ben QBs?

I watched them change the play calling to suit the supposed capabilities of each QB. With the HUGE caveat that Matt Canada was fundamentally unqualified to call NFL plays. But A Smith called 3 different offenses for Wilson, Fields, and Rodgers.

 

Art Rooney II is 73. What I read is the his son (Dan) will probably take the reigns after him. Will he be more of the same, or have a different take on things? Because it is extremely unlikely that ARII will be around and running things long enough to come anywhere near to McCarthy having a 20 year stay with the Steelers. Dan might go shopping right away, or expect results more than competing. Can't see too many owners taking such a long run of medicority.

 

There aren't 7 first round QBs to take. In fact maybe only 1 worth it.

 

There is obviously no handbook with drawings that says this is how the Steelers play, but in general they have been playing a run heavy game with emphasis on being a very strong defensive team. Even their passing game is an extension of the run with the quick passes to the outside behind the line of scrimmage. Post Ben, Steelers QBs have largely been charged with protecting the ball and making small plays to move the ball down the field to where we can get a field goal or a good punt that allows us to play the field position battle and win. Our red zone offense has been horrible (this last year with Rodgers was the best in a long time). Why do you think that everyone lost Boz so much? He is the guy that gets us points......and we depend on our defense to keep us close with turn overs and keeping them out of the EZ.

Look at the last few years and our passing totals. I know that there is a lot that goes into it beyond just the QB, but it also looks to me like building a quality passing game takes a back seat to the Steelers way.

 

Compare that to the latter 2/3 of ben's career. They passed all over the field in almost any situation and game setting.

Wilson passed primarily deep shots down the sideline because that was all he could do. It was the same with the Giants. Then he got benched.

I do not think the "style" of offense the Steelers ran post Ben was an organizational philosophy or preference. It was a forced adaptation to how terrible their QB options were at doing anything else.

Shorten the game with a good defense, in theory a ball control offense, and make no mistakes. Win ugly. Force the other team down into the muck with you and see who makes less mistakes. It is a tried and true recipe for winning NFL games when you can not compete at the QB position. Didn't Ryan call it ground and pound when Sanchez was making butt fumbles?

Again, with the massive caveat, that who knows during the Canada regime...that was just a barrel of terrible.

 

Yeah, I don't follow college and only know that I have read a lot about this not being a very good class. So I just went with the 'we are not going to get any of the first 5 qbs available route'......lol

Heck, looking at the 1st round picks, the only 1 that I look at and say he is not going anywhere is the Redskins and Daniels. Do I think that KC is moving on from MaHomes? No, but he has taken a real beating the last 2 seasons and he is slipping. I could see him leaving football. Everyone else on that list is someone that I could see grabbing someone new. Even the Giants as I never really felt like the team embraced Dart as the future. It felt more like he was the only option they had left (and I think he did pretty damned good).

 

If Mike McCarthy is truly the "QB Whisperer" that the Rooney's believe, then the options for the Steelers are pretty damn simple given the information the Steelers scouts have given us leading into the 2026 NFL Draft. Among the options still available, three stand out. They are as follows;


1.) Drew Allar (7 Total Times Scouted; 5 prior to injury): If the Steelers were hiding their interest in Drew Allar, they were not doing a good job of it. In my mind, among the QB options I'd take between the three, Drew Allar is my preferred option. His four years of inconsistency and stagnant growth may scare off some, as well as his injury, but there is simply way too much to work with from an overall QB perspective. Best of all?! He will only be 22 in March. Still a lot of untapped potential there and definitely someone I wouldn't be shocked about if he is a pick by the team.


2.) Ty Simpson ( 3 Total Times Scouted): The choice a lot of people are zeroing in on. I understand why as well; First Half of 2026 Ty Simpson was not only among the best QBs in all of College Football but also arguably one of the best players overall. Second Half?! Yikes. Fell off hard. His injury didn't aid his cause but his decision making and accuracy weren't the same either. Add in the fact he only has 15 Games worth of College Experience and one has to wonder if he is the correct choice at all.


3.) Cade Klubnik (4 Total Times Scouted): Cade is... kinda weird. On one hand, he does have all the traits of the modern era NFL QB, good mobility, good arm, capable of playing out of structure, etc. The issue stems from a severe lack of consistency and dependability. As a QB, being consistent is one thing but being dependent is another. That said, him getting the right coach could work wonders for there is still a starting QB to work with here.


*Honorable Mention*


Carson Beck (2 Total Times Scouted): An option I wouldn't mind at all much like Drew Allar. In the right system, you definitely have something pretty damn good to work with regarding Beck. Just have to teach him out of those bad habits of his gunslinger mentality.

 

Why would I re-watch any Super Bowl?

 

I like McCarthy.

He is a QB whisper and knows how to coach the most important position in football from a learning and development aspect, a strategic aspect, an execution aspect, and logistical aspect.

I only wish he was 10 years younger , but he is still in his coaching prime.

In my most recent mock draft, I have Allar as our 4th round pick. Now he really needs good coaching, but physically is big and has a rocket arm. You can't caoch that. Develop him, McCarthy can.

Howard played like a first round pick in his last four college football games. He too has potential as we saw it under Ryan Day at Ohio State. Mentally and physically ready he is.

Rodgers is old, and a bad leader. He was a superstar QB, who produced magic with McCarthy, but that was then. Many years ago, and this is now. I do not want him back.

 

I was talking to a big Alabama fan, and he pointed out to me that the running game there was at a low tide. Way below recent standards. He only played 15 games, and this is the reason why we will be in position to draft him in round one.

Most college QB's improve greatly in year two of starting college football. Simspon did not get a chance to do that.

His stats are very good and he played an A + schedule that featured 8 top 16 rated college football teams. So he is battle tested. See the gamebook.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/gamelog/_/id/4685522/ty-simpson

He is a QB that suffered a high amount of dropped passes too.

But arm talent wise he is very good. Better than Howard. As an athlete he is good as well. A good RPO and QB runner who can really hurt a defense with his feet, especially when they play man coverage.

If he works out well, tests well mentally on the wonderlic / S2 test and interviews well, I take him in round one.

 

I think you know more than say 98% of the steelers fans and say at least 90% of the fans who post here. One of the best posters you are.

The man played reasonably well vs. many top teams. Like you said he did not get the running game or the OL protection that other top QB's enjoyed. It was grade C-

He was a bit hurt in his last five games. No excess for him, just saying... His high number of TD passes and low interception total is attractive for a man who only started 15 games and played an A+ schedule tough schedule.

However his total amount lost ( 6 ) is high. Ty does not appear to have small 9 inch hands or smaller judging by the video from my eyes. Further examination on film of his lost fumbles is needed.

Everyone loves Lamar Jackson's running ability as a QB yet the man takes a lot of sacks and fumbles too often.

 

Agreed. Its stems from the Run it Back mentality from the gummy worm owner. And he will plays games again with making them wait. Pass! I can see him with the Vikings though. JJ McCarthy is a joke.

I'm on board if Simpson falls to us. Allar as a late round pick take a flier if not Simpson.

Howard is still a wild card here. Is it just hype? Can McCarthy develop him? Or will they overpay for a Willis ect. to satisfy the gummy worm owner?

To me giving a micro sized blueprint in Willis and pay him large would be a mistake. Or for that matter trading for Murrey or looking at Lance in FA. Not much for Mac Jones either in a trade.

 

I like your comments on the quarterbacks you listed.

I'm going to comment on Drew Allar because the team may have an opportunity to take him a little later in the draft. Most believe he didn't play well enough this season, plus he is coming off of an injury that ended his season early.

Allar has an elite arm. He can make any throw on the field with that cannon that possesses effortless power. His strong arm and great spin would suit him well in the windy, cold conditions of Pittsburgh and AFC North football in general.

Allar also has underrated mobility. He moves very well for a big kid at 6' 5" 235. He can run well with the football when necessary and he is willing to fight for yards when needed.

He has great size, but he is young. From watching him play his entire career with Penn St he has always looked like a big kid that hasn't completely grown into his body. At times he looks a little clumsy like the whole head/body thing isn't completely in sync. I believe there is a chance that all that size and strength could finally come completely under his control and he can elevate his play.

Allar has played with awful wide receivers. He has played with terrific tight ends, but his wide receivers have not been good at all. The lack of WR talent at Penn St has been one of the ongoing problems for the team, and it certainly isn't helping the quarterback look good. He hasn't had a wide receiver that he could just throw the ball up to and make a play. They have all been players that get swallowed up by quality cornerbacks and could not create separation. Not one while he was there. He had to rely so hard on Tyler Warren because there was nobody else he could rely on to make a play.

Allar has a lot of work to do with his fundamentals. His footwork isn't good and is inconsistent. He has the arm to attack any part of the field, but his feet are often out of position for him to make quality throws. He relies on the elite arm a little too much and throws off platform more than he has to. These are correctable issues that a good NFL organization with quality offensive coaches to develop him should improve him greatly.

Allar takes care of the ball. He has never thrown a lot of interceptions. He has made a few at the worst times but pressing to make a play and not having quality wide receivers can do that. His processing and overall football mind is hard to get a read on without being in the room with him. He needs work on going through his progressions a lot better. It appears that too many times he predetermined where he was going with the ball. The interview at the combine will be very important in showing his aptitude and level of desire for the game.

In review, he's very young with plenty of room to grow and prototypical size and strength. His arm is elite. His movement skills and running ability are sneaky good. He isn't a runner, but he can do just enough to be an asset. He doesn't turn the ball over a lot. He takes care of the football, which is a problem for a lot of quarterbacks that are much older and more experienced than him playing with better offensive weapons.

If they can draft Allar in the third round or later, this is a player with such a high ceiling that it would make a ton of sense to take him. He doesn't need to play immediately, so they can continue to develop Howard and hopefully both young quarterbacks respond to the coaching and develop. If they are going to take a swing, I would like to see them take a swing on a player that has some really elite traits and they can work on the rough parts of his game. He has a lot of work to do, but the raw materials are there.