The Seattle Seahawks drafted Milroe with the 92nd pick in the third round of the NFL Draft. The dynamic dual-threat quarterback is a tantalizing prospect. He’s also a brutally honest one, especially when it comes to himself.
During the run-up to the 2025 NFL Draft, Milroe met with multiple teams just like every other player. Unlike every other player, he was especially blunt when asked to rate his own skills, performance, and most importantly, what he could improve on.
How Brutally Honest Was Jalen Milroe?
As reported on LAS VEGAS RAIDERS INSIDER with Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter, Milroe made the exact opposite impression that Shedeur Sanders allegedly made.
“One of the teams asked Jalen Milroe a series of questions about what he was really good at,” Carpenter said. “And then they said they asked him what he could get better at, and his answer was, ‘How much time do you have?’ And the guy goes, we’re sitting there interviewing Jalen Milroe and he’s telling us all the areas that he’s working on right now,” said SI’s Hondi Carpenter.
“[A] team said to him, ‘Are you not concerned about pointing out those things to us that would concern us?’ He basically said to them, I wasn’t in the room, but basically said, ‘You should be concerned with any guy that comes in this room, who hasn’t played a down of NFL football and doesn’t tell you that he has weaknesses or that he isn’t working on them. Plus it’s an insult because that means he doesn’t think you know how to watch film.’”
The 6’1″, 217-pound Milroe passed for 6,016 yards, 45 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions while rushing for 1,577 yards and 33 touchdowns in two years as a starter for Alabama. He led the SEC with 20 rushing touchdowns in 2024 and had a record of 21-6 as a starter.
Milroe is considered by most to be the most athletic college quarterback in recent memory, being compared to Lamar Jackson because of his ability to make plays with his legs. He has a powerful arm and has a 95.8 PFF passing grade on passes thrown 40 or more yards downfield, the best in the 2025 draft class.
He comes from a military family, and his discipline and leadership have been praised. He was a two-year team captain and took over that spot after the departure of Bryce Young to the Carolina Panthers.
His game does have holes. He has the big deep ball, but he has struggled with short and intermediate passes. He’s often caught trying to cheat his way out of trouble by throwing across his body and has failed to read defenses properly, especially on screen passes. His decision-making is questionable as he has held the ball too long, inviting pressure and sacks. He needs to improve his processing speed and decision-making under pressure.
With Sam Darnold locked in as the starter, Milroe will be given time to develop. The Seahawks could utilize him in a Taysum Hill Swiss-Army Knife role and put together specific packages for him. Either way, he’s going into a situation where he will get to work on his game and hone his skills instead of being rushed into something he’s not ready for.
