NFL team viewed Drew Allar as top 5 pick for 2025 NFL Draft, per report

Last fall, Drew Allar put any NFL Draft speculation to rest early, announcing his return to Penn State football in mid-December. But as the senior quarterback prepares for one final season with the Nittany Lions, a new report this week sheds light on how pro teams would have viewed Allar if he left Happy Valley early.

New information from The Athletic Draft analyst Dane Brugler suggests that at least one organization, the Cleveland Browns, viewed Allar as a potential top-five pick in the most recent Draft class. According to Brugler’s report, the Browns likely would have selected the Nittany Lions quarterback second overall during April’s NFL Draft. Cleveland ultimately drafted quarterbacks Dillion Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the third and fifth rounds, respectively.

Of course, Penn State already had two players selected in the top 15 of the 2025 NFL Draft: Abdul Carter, who went No. 3 to the New York Giants, and Tyler Warren, who went No. 14 to the Indianapolis Colts.

Although the 2026 NFL Draft is 12 months away, significant momentum is already building behind Allar as a top pick.

𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: The Browns would’ve likely drafted Penn State QB Drew Allar at No. 2 if he declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, per @dpbrugler

“If Drew Allar would’ve declared he probably would’ve been the #2 pick to the Browns.”

Allar is one of the top QB prospects for next year's… https://t.co/OYfKFKtRU4 pic.twitter.com/pYvp2vg2rZ

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 5, 2025

With spring practice now concluded, Allar and the Nittany Lions turn to summer workouts ahead of a critical 2025 season. With some in the national media starting to rally around Penn State as the top team in the nation heading into the fall, expectations are already sky-high in State College.

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“He needs to take another step this year, which we think he’s done every year he’s been here,” James Franklin said of Allar this spring. “He needs to take another step when it comes to his mobility. He needs to take another step when it comes to his leadership. He needs to take another step in terms of his completion percentage. Needs to take another step in terms of his touchdown-interception ratio.

“It’s really all of it. There are some things we’ve had some conversations with [quarterbacks coach] Danny O’Brien that those conversations will stay between us, but I would say just being transparent, I will say I don’t think it’s one necessarily specific thing. It’s all of it.

“The thing that’s exciting about Drew, and you guys see him, he may be 6’5″, 235 pounds, but he has a lot of growth and development. He’s a young kid. He has taken significant steps every single year, as you guys, I think, are aware. He puts in a ton of time and knows how to prepare the right way, both mentally and physically.”

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