The Super Bowl champions have been crowned, and the football sphere’s focus has swiftly pivoted towards the NFL Draft. But the Eagles are a lesson headed into April. Philly’s success was largely down to the sum of their parts. Not dependent on one player, unlike the opposition whose one key player laid a bit of an egg. That said, the MVP in the Super Bowl was still the QB. Which remains a requisite need no matter how good the rest of your team is. Jalen Hurts was a Day 2 running quarterback who was deemed replaceable by Alabama and came in with more questions than answers. Those facets are all directly transferable to Jalen Milroe.

With merely 2 years atop the depth chart and 27 total starts for Alabama, Jalen Milroe is an unknown quantity. Stood on the precipice of Combine week, the consensus projects Milroe to be picked anywhere between rounds 2 and 3. The Senior Bowl serves as a line in the sand that signals the commencing of Draft season. Owing to his inexperience and liquid NFL grade, Milroe was one of the biggest stories at the down in Mobile, Alabama. How’d he take this opportunity to make in-roads with scouts and the front-office brass? Well, let’s just say he didn’t quite “let the naysayers know”. Ironically, the Bama QB was close to Tuscaloosa but still left with a far from linear route into the NFL. Or did he? One insider, with his finger on the pulse of what franchisees think of Milroe, has leveraged their intel. Stunningly, his stock is trending skywards.

Jalen Milroe can leg it for a first down almost any time; such is his burst of pace from in and out of the pocket. His best attributes are indeed his rushing and scrambling prowess. Micheal Vick, Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson. We’ve seen this dual-threat archetype of QB thrive in the pros. His arm, you’d think, is still a work in progress, though. At least in terms of his accuracy. But Milroe’s passing game is not standing to be a hindrance. Not according to the scouts and personnel that SI’s Raiders’ insider Hondo Carpenter spoke to. Speaking over his aptly named “LAS VEGAS RAIDERS INSIDER” podcast, Carpenter relayed the exact words he heard from some confidential sources inside the NFL. 

“I always ask where do you have [Jalen Milroe] graded now, before the combine? And then where do you project he’ll go? A lot of people think he’s going in the first round just because there’s so many bad drafting teams,” claimed Hondo Carpenter. It’s already a fair assumption Milroe shall test off the charts in Indy with his tangibles and athleticism. The objective grade and subjective hype assigned to Milroe are bound to go up after the Combine. Carpenter’s comment, hence, implies how teams that aren’t great at drafting will fall for Milroe after the Combine. This may sound back-handed, but Carpenter did relay some outright positive things he heard too. While listing Milroe’s strengths, Carpenter stated he has “exceptional field vision,” according to his sources. “Multiple guys used the term eyes on the back of his head. He just sees the field. He has a feel for the game.” 

That’s quite contradicting to the stuff leaking out post-Senior Bowl. Talk about a turnaround. However, Carpenter did relay an indictment he heard. “Here’s what one guy said. ‘I love Jalen Milroe, but would not touch him in the first round…This is a kid in the second round that makes you look like a hero but in the first round has the potential to get you fired.” Even if a team is seemingly making a mistake drafting Milroe on Day 1, that’s secondary. It’ll mean he earned the trust and reverence of an NFL franchise in the first place. Something that can instill a level of confidence in the player and propel him further along in his development. Seems like Milroe is ascending through the ranks. That said, Hondo Carpenter also heard some concerns that undercut this ascension.

Holes in Jalen Milroe’s game still leave room for development and put a cap on his NFL Draft grade

“He has [a strong] arm and can make every [kind of] throw accurately,” said Carpenter. “But he’s not always accurate. [Jalen Milroe] is gonna have to improve on that.” So, while he’s got the ability to make his throws stick, the consistency is a concern. Carpenter then read off the next concern he heard from inside the league. “Must improve footwork and throwing motion…meaning using the same motion all the time.” Again, an inconsistency issue. Which is a bit of a theme that stems from his rawness. Next, Jalen Milroe’s biggest edge has also spurred a byproduct that worries people.

“He is strong. There are no concerns about his size or his style. If he takes off running the football, you’re not worried about how is he going to react when he gets crushed by a Maxx Crosby or a Myles Garrett,” remarked Hondo Carpenter. But he also heard Milroe can be “Too tough for his own good. Throw it away and live another down. Or check down instead of [always looking for] a big play.” Carpenter called this “a pretty fair criticism” as he suggested Milroe can tend to hold onto the football too long and try to fend off pass rushers with his strength. Which leads into another issue- “b*ll security” Fumbles caused by being overly physical. So here’s what this discernment boils down to.

Jalen Milroe has the physical tools to be a franchise QB in the NFL. Teams appear to recognize that. It’s about whether he can develop the other aspects. This is a project that will have to sit and learn for a year or two but has a high-end ceiling. Just depends on who and when takes a punt at Milroe. The environment someone as malleable and raw as him goes into can alter the trajectory of his career. For now, he’ll just focus on showing out at the Combine. There are a lot of quarterbacks bunched up around Milroe’s current grade, and he can create separation in Indianapolis.