Chad Reuter’s latest seven-round mock draft has the Detroit Lions taking former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar with the No. 128 pick in the fourth round, a move that would add another name to a depth chart that is thin behind Jared Goff. Detroit already lost Kyle Allen this offseason when he signed a two-year deal with the Buffalo Bills, leaving Teddy Bridgewater as the only quarterback behind Goff after Bridgewater rejoined the team this offseason.
The projection lands at a time when Allar’s name still carries both promise and baggage. Entering last season, he was among the preseason favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, but a season-ending left ankle injury that required surgery cut short that run. In four seasons at Penn State, he threw for 7,402 yards, 61 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, production that helped push the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Orange Bowl.
There was also a high-profile ending to that Penn State season. The Nittany Lions fell to Notre Dame 27-24 in the semifinal after Allar’s late-game interception set up the game-winning field goal, a sequence that will follow him into draft season as teams weigh his tools against his turnover and injury history.
Reuter’s mock gives Detroit help at several spots, not just quarterback. It projects Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano to the Lions at No. 13 overall in the first round, Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore at No. 50 overall in the second round and Duke center Brian Parker II at No. 118 overall in the fourth round. But the Allar pick is the one that speaks most directly to the Lions’ present reality: if Detroit wants insurance behind Goff, it has little beyond Bridgewater after Allen’s departure.
That makes the drew allar nfl draft conversation less about where he is selected than whether a team believes the former Penn State starter can be developed into a usable backup, or more. For Detroit, the answer in this mock is clear. The question is whether the Lions would be willing to spend a fourth-round pick to find out.
