By Mark Pszonak
I had many thoughts while watching Penn State’s eighth consecutive loss to Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. And several involved quarterback Drew Allar and his future in the NFL. Projected by many to be a first-round selection in the spring, I now see him to be very comparable to another recent first-round selection – Daniel Jones.
Jones, who was the sixth overall pick by the New York Giants in 2019, enjoyed a successful, yet unspectacular career at Duke. In three full seasons he passed for 8,201 yards, 52 touchdowns and 29 interceptions while completing 59.9% of his attempts. He also rushed for 1,323 yards and 17 touchdowns, which very successfully showcased his athleticism.
To break this down a little further, per season Jones averaged 2,734 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through the air and 441 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
For Allar, who is only in his second season as the full-time starter at Penn State, here is a look at his numbers, which includes the projections for the remainder of this season. He will have passed for 5,534 yards, 45 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 63.2% of his attempts. He will have also rushed for 466 yards and nine touchdowns during his two seasons.
And to break it down per season, Allar will have an average of 2,767 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions through the air and 233 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
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Just by the numbers, you can see that Allar is a bit more accurate and throws less interceptions, while Jones was more reliant on his legs during his time with the Blue Devils. But overall, there are noticeable similarities.
Aside from their production, their physical sizes are almost identical. Jones measured in at 6-foot-5, 220-pounds during his senior season at Duke and is now listed at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds with the New York Giants, while Penn State currently lists Allar at 6-foot-5, 235-pounds. Both possess the size and athleticism that NFL general managers and coaches love to have.
While some of these similarities are good, others are not. But overall, I’m seeing too many of the negative similarities which makes me believe that Allar will eventually turn into Jones in the NFL. And that is not a good thing.
It would be a great thing financially for Allar as Jones has career earnings of $108,129,056 but on the field, he is being prepared to be run out of New York. Jones’ completion percentage has only slightly improved from college (64.2%) while he has continued to throw too many interceptions. He will find a new NFL home after this season, but expectations for his future will be extremely limited.
For Allar, his accuracy issues will also be what limits his success in the NFL. While he has not thrown as many interceptions in college as Jones did, his inconsistencies will continue to hinder him.
A quality quarterback is vital to a team’s success in the NFL. And as always, desperate teams will fall in love with several quarterbacks over the next six months leading up to the draft. One will surely be Allar, who possesses several of the important traits that draw attention. But buyer beware, because whatever team decides to draft Allar will be staring at a Daniel Jones situation a few years down the road.
