The 2025 NFL Draft is knocking at the door. Out of all the college football stars set to take off, Alabama Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe is one of them. Recruited by the GOAT Nick Saban himself, Milroe also carries the oomph factor with himself. The quarterback had already turned heads at his Pro Day with the $5.3 billion AFC giant brass in attendance. He ran a blazing 4.37-second 40-yard dash on one of his attempts. The scouts were so pleased with his feat that they took out their top target to a dinner the very next day. However, a college football analyst gave them a heads-up before getting too carried away with the Milroe plan. They have Lamar Jackson’s blunder records as a reference. 

Milroe made use of every chance to boost his draft stock. And the Pittsburgh Steelers have gone all head over heels. At the NFL Combine, Milroe cleared up a wonky hand-size measurement from the Senior Bowl, with a just-below-average 9 3/8-inch measurement. After all, he finally got a chance to prove himself. The 22-year-old did spend a lot of time sitting behind Bryce Young in 2021 and 2022 before winning the starting job in 2023. However, here comes the catch. In case the Steelers are desperate to bring Milroe home, they land in an interesting spot. They don’t own its 2025 second-round pick following its trade with the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver DK Metcalf. On the flip side, it is far too risky to use the No. 21 overall pick on Milroe. However, analyst Steve Muench is worried about something else.

On the April 3 episode of The McShay Show, he gave a reality check on the Steelers’ interest in Mason Rudolph as the starter. “I think the other teams are in a little bit better position quarterback-wise in terms of playing a guy next year and developing a player. Pittsburgh really needs to find a starter, maybe more than those other teams we were talking about.” That’s because the Steelers have the unhappy marriage tale between Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to look up to. “They’ve watched Lamar Jackson and Baltimore. They’ve had to watch that unfold and all the criticism… when Lamar came out of Louisville, it was ‘this kid’s not accurate enough.’ All the polling and stuff that came out about: ‘Maybe he’s not a quarterback.’ All of the controversy and the criticisms about him.”

That’s the cost that the Ravens paid for their bold move to their future franchise quarterback, Jackson. They swung a huge deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. With this, they took the risk of trading three picks to move up to No. 32 overall and select Jackson. And the result? Well, we all know about that dark chapter. Since becoming Baltimore’s starting quarterback halfway through the 2018 season, Jackson has missed more games against the Steelers (six) than he’s started (four). As of 2024, Pittsburgh has sacked the QB 20 times. However, Jackson has risen like a phoenix, grabbing the MVP honors and having “unreal” powers. This might give the Steelers some kind of hope about their Mission Milroe.  

That is his deep ball accuracy. Milroe’s 95.8 PFF passing grade on passes thrown 40 or more yards downfield is the best in the draft class. On that note, Muench draws a scenario. “You just went out and got DK Metcalf. You won a quarterback and they can get him the ball downfield. Jalen Milroe can do that for you. He’s a guy who could take the top off the coverage.” So, apparently, the analyst has no problem with the Alabama quarterback. As Muench shared, “The problem for me has always been now that they don’t have a second round pick how do they get into a position to take him in the right area of the draft.” Another analyst, too, is in love with Pittsburgh’s pursuit to land Milroe. 

A bold move for Jalen Milroe topped up with former mentor’s praise 

When it’s the Steelers, the main conversation revolves around their big dilemma at the moment. Will they seal the deal with former New York Jets quarterback, Aaron Rodgers? When will that happen? Now, suppose their plan materializes; they still won’t get peace of mind. After all, they will still need to find a long-term answer for the position. So, they have a desire to select Milroe—far higher than he’s currently projected on most draft boards. That’s when CFB analyst Colin Cowherd drew an analogy. 

“I’m told the Steelers really like Jalen Milroe—21st pick, first round. So, if Aaron signs with Pittsburgh, it’s going to become Kirk Cousins. They’re taking a quarterback.” Maybe it would be hard for the Steelers to move past Milroe, knowing how much of a hard worker he is. On that note, Kalen DeBoer’s heavy praise for his former QB came as the icing on the cake.

“He’s coming in super early. He’s a guy that isn’t afraid of the work in all areas, whether it’s on the football field, in workouts, in the classroom. He just loves it. The new challenges that come his way, he embraces it. He’s always looking to learn and has a growth mindset about him, and really enjoyable to be around.” Earlier, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin supposedly ‘loved’ Malik Willis in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, they ultimately chose Kenny Pickett. In this case, a last-minute change of mind is unlikely to happen. That’s because Milroe is a better prospect than Willis was. Pittsburgh’s pursuit of Jalen Milroe is heating up—can they pull it off?