Jalen Milroe NFL Draft Profile: Alabama quarterback has undeniable upside

At certain points during the last college football season, Alabama star Jalen Milroe looked like a candidate to be the first quarterback taken in the upcoming NFL draft.

At other times, he looked a million miles away from an NFL-calibre signal caller.

The truth of the matter, of course, lies somewhere in between.

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Milroe won’t be the first quarterback to hear his name called when the 2025 draft begins in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on 24 April. That will be the University of Miami’s Cam Ward, who appears almost certain to be the Tennessee Titans’ selection with the first overall pick.

After that, most projections name Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders – the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders – as the next passer to be chosen, likely followed soon after by Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss.

Draft experts seem to agree that order – irrespective of specific pick numbers and destinations – is as good as set in stone.

One matter on which the analysts cannot find anything approaching a consensus, however, is where Milroe will land. Mock drafts place him anywhere from the tail end of the first round to late in the third.

That’s because Milroe is both wildly talented and excruciatingly raw.

The reason he could ultimately be a first-round pick is due to a couple of undeniably elite traits he possesses.

Firstly, his rushing ability is the most outstanding attribute of any quarterback – Ward included – in the 2025 class. He has electric speed and an ability to burst through opposition coverages and obliterate pursuit angles that has led to comparisons to two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

Milroe rushed for 12 touchdowns in 2022 – his first year as the starter under centre for Bama – followed by 20 last year. His three-rushing-touchdown display in a 42-13 demolition of LSU in November showcased his frightening skills as a runner.

He also has a cannon of an arm, owning arguably the best deep ball in the current QB class.

But Milroe is deeply unrefined as a passer over short and intermediate distances, an area in which he appeared to regress last year.

In 2022, he threw 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions to lead the Crimson Tide to the playoffs and an 11-2 record.

Last season, he threw 16 scores and 11 picks. Alabama finished with a 9-4 record, missing the post-season. He completed more than 20 passes in just two of his 13 starts and completed 16 or fewer in nine.

But by all accounts, Milroe is a smart, dedicated character. In the right environment, with enough patience and the right coaching, there is an imaginable future in which he develops into a top-level quarterback in the NFL.

It’ll be fascinating to see which team is prepared to gamble on that upside in the draft.

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