Grading Will Howard, Drew Allar and Mason Rudolph's preseason debuts as Steelers QB room gets crowded

With Aaron Rodgers quite literally calling the NFL preseason games meaningless, that meant that Thursday night was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan's dream as they got to see the hopeful future at quarterback. Yes, longtime backup Mason Rudolph got the start in the preseason action against the Green Bay Packers, but it was then second-year fan-favorite Will Howard and rookie draft darling Drew Allar who took it from there. And none of the three disappointed for the Steelers.

Allar, as you'd expect, got the most reps with the Steelers offense in the matchup, but all three left their mark. And as Pittsburgh enters what will be Rodgers' final season, there's a lot of hope within the fanbase that Howard or Allar can be the quarterback of the future. It's still too early to call that, but we can look at each quarterback's performance and hand out a grade before unpacking what it might all mean.

Grading Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar in Steelers preseason opener

Mason Rudolph grade: C+

• Stats: Two drives (no points) | 10-of-11 for 93 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 2 sacks taken

Mason Rudolph wasn't bad against the Packers, per se. He was obviously efficient on his night and, while the opening drive of Pittsburgh's preseason was the veteran backup orchestrating a three-and-out, he rebounded for a 16-play, 84-yard drive in his only other possession at the helm. The Steelers walked away empty-handed on the 1-yard line there, but there was at least something to hang your hat on in that department.

At the same time, Rudolph's place in this pecking order with the Steelers suggests that he should be performing a bit better than this. As of right now, he's the primary backup to Rodgers. He's been in the league a while now. You'd expect him, especially in the preseason, to execute in the red zone, to not take the most sacks of any of the three quarterbacks, and to simply show a bit more than he did.

By no means was this performance worrisome enough for Rudolph to lose the backup job. However, his performance in relation to what the two young signal-callers did when their numbers were called does make the next several weeks a lot more interesting for the Steelers.

Will Howard grade: A-

• Stats: Three drives (7 points) | 7-of-9 for 86 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack taken | 1 rush for 2 yards

Steelers fans had been waiting two years to see Will Howard after injuries kept him out of the preseason as a rookie. When he took the helm, it wouldn't be a far stretch to say that he was a lot of what the fanbase had been hoping for from the former Ohio State standout and national champion.

The numbers were solid, and Howard did lead an 80-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a one-yard Lew Nichols touchdown run, in the second of his three drives helming the offense. But maybe the most impressive part was his presence on the field.

Everything looked to be moving the right speed for Howard, despite this being his first taste of NFL game action. He was on time, he had a good rapport with his pass-catchers, and he showed good pocket presence as well. It was an incredibly impressive debut.

Granted, that debut for Howard came as the Packers defense was getting deeper into the roster and depth chart. That has to be noted, of course, because it's a different job than going against a starting defense in the NFL. At the same time, there was nothing that we saw from Howard that doesn't suggest we could see much more in the future — or at least throughout the rest of the preseason — and Steelers fans should be excited about it.

Drew Allar grade: A

• Stats: Three drives (21 points) | 10-of-13 for 153 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 0 sacks taken | 1 rush for 3 yards, 1 TD

Even at Penn State, I wasn't a believer in Drew Allar. The tools have been there from the moment he got to Happy Valley, but he'd never been able to put it all together, and especially not for a full season. That alone left me pretty dubious about what he was going to translate to be in the NFL without some serious development.

It's only one game, sure, but he's looking like he's about to make me eat my words. Allar was absolutely tremendous in this game. He led three drives of consequence (and kneeled it out in the final seconds) and all ended with a touchdown he had a hand in as he threw two and rushed for another.

Even more so than with Howard, Allar wasn't playing the stiffest competition. He didn't see the field until Pittsburgh's second drive of the second half. Even so, the young quarterback showed far more impressive accuracy than I believe he did at any point in his college career. Yes, he did benefit from some big runs after catch, but he was mistake-free, he was poised and he was able to show off his talent quite a bit.

Given my prior biases when it comes to Allar, it'll probably take another performance like this one (or two) for me to really get a feel for the rookie. However, I'm certainly going to give him plenty of credit for his Steelers debut as a rookie. Put simply, he looked the part every Steelers fan hoped he would.

What the QB play in the preseason opener means for the Steelers

Ultimately, I don't particularly think that the Steelers are going to overreact to one preseason game — especially when Mike McCarthy is their head coach. At the same time, it's hard to watch Rudolph be the "worst" performer of the three backups that took the field in the first week of the preseason and not wonder about the future possibilities.

While Rudolph is familiar in Pittsburgh, he's not been with McCarthy. Furthermore, with this being Rodgers' final season in the NFL, the Steelers obviously need to start thinking about their future. Howard and Allar are years younger than Rudolph, and would seemingly offer a higher ceiling for this offense moving forward in a post-Rodgers world. How much will the team weigh that versus the immediate help that could be needed if their starter goes down?

It's going to be fascinating to see throughout the rest of the preseason and training camp. There's also an underrated wrinkle in here, though, which is that it's going to be near impossible for the Steelers to carry three quarterbacks. They could, sure, but it's not something that we often see in the modern NFL.

If that is the case, then one of these three quarterbacks likely becomes a trade candidate before rosters undergo final cuts. Given that we're still sorting out how the Steelers' own hierarchy in the QB room will shake out, it's impossible to say who that would be. But it's something to keep on the radar as we continue to watch these three backups go to work in the preseason.