Alabama Crimson Tide took a lot of flakes for their wasted 9-4 season, marking the worst of their records since 2007. Jalen Milroe unsurprisingly shared a chunk of the brickbats and made no complaints. He left behind a complicated legacy filled with some promising flashes of the big plays and some underwhelming performances. He took the reins from Bryce Young and made a lot of hype heading into the 2024 season, but eventually, a series of faulty passes and inconsistent performance lowered the bar.

However, the nasty plays and the unbridled backlash are just a forgettable memory right now as Milroe is shaping up strong in his Senior Bowl commitment and raising the NFL stock in the process.

Jalen Milroe’s Senior Bowl output shows a silver lining in the NFL bet

Milroe’s final step in college football, which plays a significant role in the NFL draft evaluation, is the Senior Bowl—an event he’s been on the role for this week. How is he doing? Well, draft expert Yates detailed, ”Jalen Milroe is the guy who had 20 rushing touchdowns last season. I think if he runs during the pre-draft process, it’s going to be a sub-4.440 time which is obviously uncoachable but as far as his consistency as a passer that’s going to be something he has to prove to NFL GMs that he can do at a high enough level to be a sustained starter in the league.” Yates later expressed the bitter pill suggesting Milroe needs time to grow into a full-blown next-level NFL elite, but the prospect is upward.

”Jalen Milroe with the ball in his hand is special throughout all of his career at Alabama. When he would decide to tuck it, he was the fastest guy on the field. He had great toughness, had great vision. Are there any conversations about him potentially taking some reps at different positions or are we all in on quarterback for Jalen Milroe?” Pat McAfee asked.

Yates answered that Milroe is able to make specific throws despite having some issues with rhythm passing. Recalling a crazy throw on the first day of practice the draft analyst assured, “If you could just see at a much more consistent level, there would be no question that you would be in the first-round conversation, he’s a really unique player. 

One thing is clear, the Alabama quarterback is gearing back. He is not yet a finished product and had many woes after a disappointing season, but he is getting there steadily. To back up the claim, the teams interested in him can have faith in a total of 2844 yards and 16 touchdowns. But just a few days ago, the reality looked different.

Milroe’s early senior bowl practice went wrong

The red-shirt junior Jalen Milroe single-handedly kept the Tide in playoff contention. Some tragic losses against Vanderbilt and Tennessee raised significant doubt about his status as a wonder kid under Kalen DeBoer.

At Bama, Milroe garnered a reputation for thriving under the pressure of losing it all under a structured framework. Senior Bowl is a different ball game given it strategically decides Milroe’s NFL fate. So, the room for error and limitations is significantly lower. He had to prove his worth, dodging his clampdowns.

As per Bleacher Reports’ early scouting projection, Milroe did not push the ball down the field. He kept the ball for longer, allowing the pocket to collapse. He has reportedly struggled with accuracy and throwing interceptions as well. Jaxson Dart and Riley Leonard were much more fresh and productive than him during the session. So, the NFL hope suffered another blow in the process. But in an optimistic U-turn, Milroe is flipping the page now.