The Class of NFL Draft may have been yet again one for the history books or so the speculation urges. The Athletic CEO Dane Brugler proclaimed in his weekly Next Best General Manager podcast that had Penn State quarterback Drew Allar declared for the 2023 Draft, he would have been the No. 2 overall pick… taken by Cleveland. Thus, the Browns entered the season with their two rookies on the roster and are now someway flexible for 2026. Clearly, there were some opinions from Twitter and the Twitterverse.
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First, to dissect the tweet. The idea that a college player would be chosen 1 or 2 in what is considered one of the strongest QB classes in years is pretty insane. That said, Brugler is credible, so it was definitely not an outlandish, throw-away hot take. The replies? Well, they ranged from agreement, disbelief, and full-on slander.
BradZoe89 replied: “Maybe lol the best QB in the draft went in the 5th round.” Oof. That was a dig at the whole QB class, not simply Allar. Then Lynne_122 flatly expressed their doubt: “That is a lie. Everyone told Drew to go back. His market wasn’t hot. Nobody was going pick up at 2 pick.” That’s harsh but fair. Allar certainly never really wowed against top-tier competition last season, so the skepticism is warranted.
And then we got skii_tarantino with a short, brutal hit: “Yeah right we seen the Notre Dame game lol.” For those of you who missed it, Allar went through a rough patch against Notre Dame, and that’s fast becoming an argument for why he might not be that guy just yet. But hey, college struggles don’t always mean NFL failure- just ask Josh Allen.
There were a few defending the Browns’ actions, like Meanmacheeen (who obviously is a Steelers fan, oddly enough): ‘They did great (& I’m a PIT fan lol): they added a 36 and a 1st and still got Graham. When you’re rebuilding, you need picks.’ That is a rare moment of cross-divisional solidarity, so you know it’s legit.
The funniest came from Kmsmolk, who annihilated the whole line of thought that fuelled the hype: “lol the off season praise builds again only to be flat lined by week 7…. Same silly commentary every year trying to talk the browns into some sort of relevance.” Cruel but… kind of true? The Browns have been kingpins of speculation and imagination during the offseason, only to fall flat in the regular season.
At1asShrugged was even more brutal: “No way in hell would he have been taken 2nd overall! He hasn’t accomplished anything! At least Will Howard won a Big 12 ship and a Natty. Where was he drafted?? Allar very likely would have been UDFA!” That’s attacking. Comparing Allar to Will Howard, who had transferred to Ohio State, though. But hey, wins matter to some.
dakid97 just kept it simple: “Don’t get the Allar hype at all. He has never been good against the good teams.” And there… lies the main concern, isn’t it? Big-game performances are what separates college QB from NFL hopefuls. Allar’s got the talent but hasn’t been consistent against good defenses yet.
So what’s the verdict? While Brugler’s take is a fun one, the reactions do show one thing: not everyone is sold on Allar as a no-doubt top pick. Maybe, with an extra year, Penn State changes that. Or maybe he ends up being that mid-round sleeper. Either way, they’re officially back in the conversation, and even if nothing else, having this very debate has produced some truly hilarious Twitter drama to analyze.
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Whether Cleveland gets lucky or not with their wait-and-see approach is another topic, but the Browns are in it for the long haul for now, and that’s just one more year for Allar to prove if this argument is worth all the talk. Or not. We’ll see.
