Kurt Warner's 2026 Study Ball Series

[Merlin]

One thing that is not discussed about Drew Allar is how bad his coaching was at Penn State.

I definitely did not like his coaching. I'm not averse to any of the QBs in this class, not even Simpson. I just don't want to overdraft the QB in terms of value spent.

Whoever they go with, we're probably going to need to take a shot on a QB who a lot of people don't like in the role. It's gonna be a dude with all kinds of questions no matter who they take.

 

[Memphis Ram]

One thing that is not discussed about Drew Allar is how bad his coaching was at Penn State. Remember they fired their HC even though he still had like 50 million left on the contract. There were major issues on that coaching staff and with the HC in particular.

Allar has all the tools... This is where the NFL not having developmental leagues is an issue. Just like Warner, he could use some time in the minors learning the position.

Now this is the kid I've talked myself into for this draft class and I really wouldn't mind if the Rams used a day two selection on him since they are picking at the bottom of these rounds (preferably 3rd round).

Sure, he hasn't played as well as some have thought he might, but questions about the coaching (for him and other underachieving Penn State players) isn't the only thing. He got hurt early and only played in 6 games his senior season. Maybe he would have stayed the same. But, maybe he could have steadily improved and been in the running for a top 10 or so selection. We just don't know.

But, if any QB is worth taking a shot on after round one it's this kid.

 

[Memphis Ram]

View: https://youtu.be/IyRJyxuWgig?si=BBmcF6fk53uIw8Wo

 

[OnceARam]

But, if any QB is worth taking a shot on after round one it's this kid.

Yup. The kid`s talent (completely unrealized talent) is off the charts, elite. To me he looks like a puppy - like a German Shepard who`s feet are too big and he keeps tripping over them.

 

[Tano]

Yup. The kid`s talent (completely unrealized talent) is off the charts, elite. To me he looks like a puppy - like a German Shepard who`s feet are too big and he keeps tripping over them.

That's spot on.

His feet moves way too much.

 

[jrry32]

Now this is the kid I've talked myself into for this draft class and I really wouldn't mind if the Rams used a day two selection on him since they are picking at the bottom of these rounds (preferably 3rd round).

Sure, he hasn't played as well as some have thought he might, but questions about the coaching (for him and other underachieving Penn State players) isn't the only thing. He got hurt early and only played in 6 games his senior season. Maybe he would have stayed the same. But, maybe he could have steadily improved and been in the running for a top 10 or so selection. We just don't know.

But, if any QB is worth taking a shot on after round one it's this kid.

There have been many Drew Allars over the past 10-20 years. They have consistently not panned out. Pass.

 

[Ranma]

There have been many Drew Allars over the past 10-20 years. They have consistently not panned out. Pass.

True. Jeff George, Ryan Leaf & JaMarcus Russell come to mind. However, unlike those other fellows, we can get our very own version without using the first overall pick. What a bargain!

 

[Memphis Ram]

There have been many Drew Allars over the past 10-20 years. They have consistently not panned out. Pass.

How many of those Drew Allars were rushed into a starting lineup way before they were ready?

How many had the opportunity to be coached by someone like Sean McVay and his staff AND sit and watch someone like Matt Stafford?

How many actually stayed in school for 4 years and didn't have character and/or maturity issues?

How many relied too much on their legs?

The 2027 QB Draft class should be better, but even some of those guys don't have this kid's tools.

But, more importantly, if the Rams have the success they expect to have and are selecting at the bottom the 1st round next year, they won't even have a chance at those top guys.

Besides, Non-Drew Allars bust, too. Even those deemed worthy by the masses to be selected in the 1st round.

 

[jrry32]

How many of those Drew Allars were rushed into a starting lineup way before they were ready?

How many had the opportunity to be coached by someone like Sean McVay and his staff AND sit and watch someone like Matt Stafford?

How many actually stayed in school for 4 years and didn't have character and/or maturity issues?

How many relied too much on their legs?

The 2027 QB Draft class should be better, but even some of those guys don't have this kid's tools.

But, more importantly, if the Rams have the success they expect to have and are selecting at the bottom the 1st round next year, they won't even have a chance at those top guys.

Besides, Non-Drew Allars bust, too. Even those deemed worthy by the masses to be selected in the 1st round.

Sure, other QBs bust. But the point I'm making is that the Allars of the past 10-20 years have almost never panned out. When guys with all the tools fall outside the first round, there's a good reason for it.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Sure, other QBs bust. But the point I'm making is that the Allars of the past 10-20 years have almost never panned out. When guys with all the tools fall outside the first round, there's a good reason for it.

Oh I get what you are saying. But, do you get what I'm saying?

Many of those players had character or maturity issues. I'll add that some of those players had MAJOR issues with accuracy. Some had limited experience or were turnover machines in college. Some where simply just better athletes and wanted to use their legs rather than stand in the pocket.

And my guess is that most, did not not experience an offensive minded Sean McVay type ecosystem to develop.

BTW, have there really been that many big, rocket armed, QBs during the past 10-20 years?

I can only come up with Joe Milton, Cardale Jones, Josh Allen, Anthony Richardson, Jamarcus Russell, Justin Herbert, Ryan Mallet, Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, and Joe Flacco.

 

[Memphis Ram]

View: https://youtu.be/7uio3xCEF7w?si=-8tVVS4lh1tN3c9O

 

[jrry32]

Oh I get what you are saying. But, do you get what I'm saying?

Many of those players had character or maturity issues. I'll add that some of those players had MAJOR issues with accuracy. Some had limited experience or were turnover machines in college. Some where simply just better athletes and wanted to use their legs rather than stand in the pocket.

And my guess is that most, did not not experience an offensive minded Sean McVay type ecosystem to develop.

BTW, have there really been that many big, rocket armed, QBs during the past 10-20 years?

I can only think of Joe Milton, Cardale Jones, Josh Allen, Anthony Richardson, Jamarcus Russell, Justin Herbert, Ryan Mallet, Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, and Joe Flacco.

Yes, there have been. Not counting first round picks (going back to 2010):
Joe Milton
Will Levis
Hendon Hooker
Desmond Ridder
Jacob Eason
Drew Lock
DeShone Kizer
Davis Webb
Christian Hackenberg
Cardale Jones
Logan Thomas
Zach Mettenberger
Colin Kaepernick
Ryan Mallett
John Skelton
Joe Webb

You might be able to quibble with a couple of these guys, but big, strong-armed QBs aren't rare. The ones who fall in the Draft fall for good reason. NFL teams are desperate for QBs with starting caliber tools.

Yes, I understand your point. I don't find it persuasive. I love McVay, but he's not a miracle worker. The rest of your arguments basically boil down to Allar being an individual. That's true. He's not the same guy as this long list of guys. But my point is that he's currently not a good QB and I see no reason to believe that he'll suddenly figure it out in the NFL. He's your typical toolsy QB who never fully put it together in college and lacks the instincts/processing to play the game at a high level in the NFL imo. Fool's gold.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Yes, there have been. Not counting first round picks (going back to 2010):
Joe Milton
Will Levis
Hendon Hooker
Desmond Ridder
Jacob Eason
Drew Lock
DeShone Kizer
Davis Webb
Christian Hackenberg
Cardale Jones
Logan Thomas
Zach Mettenberger
Colin Kaepernick
Ryan Mallett
John Skelton
Joe WebbHo

You might be able to quibble with a couple of these guys, but big, strong-armed QBs aren't rare. The ones who fall in the Draft fall for good reason. NFL teams are desperate for QBs with starting caliber tools.

Yes, I understand your point. I don't find it persuasive. I love McVay, but he's not a miracle worker. The rest of your arguments basically boil down to Allar being an individual. That's true. He's not the same guy as this long list of guys. But my point is that he's currently not a good QB and I see no reason to believe that he'll suddenly figure it out in the NFL. He's your typical toolsy QB who never fully put it together in college and lacks the instincts/processing to play the game at a high level in the NFL imo. Fool's gold.

I should have stated this earlier, but most non first round QBs, no matter their physical attributes, don't pan out. But, if the team is going to use a later round choice on one, I'd rather they take a chance with someone that at least has the prototype physical traits.

And yes, I can quibble with a few of those guys listed fitting the bill. But off the top of my head, many of the one's I won't quibble with suffered from the very issues I stated earlier. Maturity, character, inexperience, etc... And Hooker just added another category as one coming from an offense that doesn't translate well to the NFL.

Is Allar currently a good QB? No. Most are not entering the league. But, again, he missed half of his senior season and might have continued to improve.

And the situations these guys are placed in entering the league plays a huge role in their success or failure and I like his chances with McVay vs. most of the other coaches around the league on any QB. Even the ones deemed to be good enough to go in round one.

 

[HitStick]

Yes, there have been. Not counting first round picks (going back to 2010):
Joe Milton
Will Levis
Hendon Hooker
Desmond Ridder
Jacob Eason
Drew Lock
DeShone Kizer
Davis Webb
Christian Hackenberg
Cardale Jones
Logan Thomas
Zach Mettenberger
Colin Kaepernick
Ryan Mallett
John Skelton
Joe Webb

You might be able to quibble with a couple of these guys, but big, strong-armed QBs aren't rare. The ones who fall in the Draft fall for good reason. NFL teams are desperate for QBs with starting caliber tools.

Yes, I understand your point. I don't find it persuasive. I love McVay, but he's not a miracle worker. The rest of your arguments basically boil down to Allar being an individual. That's true. He's not the same guy as this long list of guys. But my point is that he's currently not a good QB and I see no reason to believe that he'll suddenly figure it out in the NFL. He's your typical toolsy QB who never fully put it together in college and lacks the instincts/processing to play the game at a high level in the NFL imo. Fool's gold.

So we shouldn’t draft at all QB this year? Because that’s basically every prospect not named Mendoza.

You dont draft a QB in the third or later with the anticipation that he’s the future of your franchise. Sometimes you get lucky and get your Brady’s or Wilson’s, but most of the time you don’t…

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try

 

[jrry32]

I should have stated this earlier, but most non first round QBs, no matter their physical attributes, don't pan out. But, if the team is going to use a later round choice on one, I'd rather they take a chance with someone that at least has the prototype physical traits.

That is true. But if you look at the ones who have since 2010, they don't resemble Allar. Here's that list:
Brock Purdy
Jalen Hurts
Dak Prescott
Derek Carr
Jimmy Garoppolo
Geno Smith
Russell Wilson
Kirk Cousins
Andy Dalton
Colin Kaepernick
Tyrod Taylor

And yes, I can quibble with a few of those guys listed fitting the bill. But off the top of my head, many of the one's I won't quibble with suffered from the very issues I stated earlier. Maturity, character, inexperience, etc... And Hooker just added another category as one coming from an offense that doesn't translate well to the NFL.

Is Allar currently a good QB? No. Most are not entering the league. But, again, he missed half of his senior season and might have continued to improve.

And the situations these guys are placed in entering the league plays a huge role in their success or failure and I like his chances with McVay vs. most of the other coaches around the league on any QB. Even the ones deemed to be good enough to go in round one.

It is possible Allar would have improved. Though, I'm skeptical of that because he was playing worse football in 2025 before the injury than he did in 2024.

 

[jrry32]

So we shouldn’t draft at all QB this year? Because that’s basically every prospect not named Mendoza.

You dont draft a QB in the third or later with the anticipation that he’s the future of your franchise. Sometimes you get lucky and get your Brady’s or Wilson’s, but most of the time you don’t…

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try

Disagree that my comment describes every QB who isn't Mendoza. It clearly doesn't describe Ty Simpson or Garrett Nussmeier. Should we draft a QB this year? Not sure we should. Depends on the value.

 

[Memphis Ram]

. That is true. But if you look at the ones who have since 2010, they don't resemble Allar. Here's that list:
Brock Purdy
Jalen Hurts
Dak Prescott
Derek Carr
Jimmy Garoppolo
Geno Smith
Russell Wilson
Kirk Cousins
Andy Dalton
Colin Kaepernick
Tyrod Taylor.

But, how many of these guys were put in bad situations? How many had character or maturity issues? How many had only 1 or 2 years of college experience? How many came from college offenses that didn't translate to the NFL? etc..

My guess is that a good portion of the list of players that didn't have success have negative responses to those questions. And that's no matter if they met the prototype physical requirements or not.

 

[Merlin]

The Simps around here are gonna be intolerable if we take Simpson.

 

[Memphis Ram]

View: https://x.com/JFowlerESPN/status/2041884882729566505

Ty Simpson​

Simpson is polarizing due to circumstance more than ability. His draft stock is all over the map. The player loosely expects to go anywhere from 10 to 30 in the first round, but it's hard to confidently project a home for him yet. Positional needs could push him above his grade, but enough scouts have a second-round grade on him to make early Day 2 a possibility.

Simpson's lack of starts is the primary concern. He started one year in an era when many quarterback prospects have two to four years of production. He played well through the first two months of the 2025 season and struggled late.
"I don't think anything about him other than him being a one-year player is supremely polarizing," an AFC executive said. "There's not a good history of it, but I think you've got to take each guy as an individual case.

"I don't think anyone expects him to come in right away and be great. If picked in the 20s, he'll get experience and reps and get legs under him. He's a good kid, a coach's kid, had a lot of good production and success. Maybe not on the same tier as top guys, but he's still a player."

One veteran NFL scout called Simpson "a mix between Jared Goff and Mac Jones." What helps Simpson's cause is what he was asked to do at Alabama.

"He made a lot of NFL throws," an NFL personnel evaluator said. "Some guys were running a glorified high school offense in college, but [Simpson] was throwing deep in-breakers, corners, deep outs, seams, curls."

Drew Allar​

This draft does not feature a star-studded quarterback class like the one we saw in 2024, when six passers went in the top 12. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza is at the top, and then teams will pick their flavor.

Where Allar sits in that equation is tough to project due to a tough 2025. Allar struggled with accuracy and played only six games because of a fractured left ankle.

But some NFL evaluators still see major upside in Allar, who once garnered first-round buzz thanks to his 6-5 frame and big arm.

"He's my favorite quarterback in the draft outside of Mendoza," an NFL coordinator said. "In the right system, he can be great. He's got everything as far as tools. His footwork is an absolute mess. But improve his footwork and he can take off. He deserved better than what he got at Penn State."

The coordinator stressed that Allar needs to be in a Kubiak-style system -- which essentially half the NFL uses right now -- to learn proper footwork.

 

[Memphis Ram]

View: https://youtu.be/j5O_TOflBzI?si=JLxbBX_0iv5nxrGS