2025 NFL Draft Quarterback Scouting Report - Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Hey all,
Back with another edition of my 2025 NFL Draft QB Scouting Series! This week, I’m finally doing Alabama quarterback, Jalen Milroe’s eval! As usual, I have the full written eval below but also have a link to the YouTube video if you’d prefer the video form of the eval:
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Height: 6’2”; Weight: 225 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 22 years and 4 months
Class: RS Junior
Overall Grade: 2.46/4 (Needs Improvement to Contribute)
2024 Stats:
Passing: 205/319 (64.3%); 2844 yards; 16 TDs; 11 INTs
Rushing: 168 carries; 726 yards; 20 TDs; 9 Fumbles
2024 Games Charted: Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma
Totals from Games Charted:
Short Throw Accuracy on Platform: 53/66 (80.30%)
Short Throw Accuracy off Platform: 26/36 (72.22%)
Medium Throw Accuracy on Platform: 66/94 (70.21%)
Medium Throw Accuracy off Platform: 6/10 (60%)
Intermediate Throw Accuracy on Platform: 16/32 (50%)
Intermediate Accuracy off Platform: 1/8 (12.5%)
Deep Throw Accuracy on Platform: 4/12 (33.33%)
Deep Throw Accuracy off Platform: 2/4 (50%)
Left Side of Field Accuracy: 63/92 (68.48%)
Middle of Field Accuracy: 20/26 (76.92%)
Right Side of Field Accuracy: 90/142 (63.38%)
Total Accuracy: 173/260 (66.54%)
On Platform, Way Off Target Throws (Vertical/Horizontal): 9/5 (2.25/1.25 per game)
Off Platform, Way Off Target Throws (Vertical/Horizontal): 5/0 (1.25/0 per game)
Sacks/Fumbles: 10/1 (2.5/0.25 per game)
Deflections/Pass Interference: 0/4 (0/1 per game)
Throwaways/INTs/Dropped INTs: 4/7/1 (1/1.75/0.25 per game)
Drops: 8 (2 per game)
Designed Runs/Scrambles: 47/8 (11.75/2 per game)
Success vs Blitz: 32/60 (53.33%)
Success vs Pressure: 46/93 (49.46%)
Footwork: D
Pocket Presence: D+
“Playmaking”: B
Short Throw Accuracy: A-
Medium Throw Accuracy: B+
Intermediate Throw Accuracy: C+
Deep Throw Accuracy: D+
Throw on the Run: B+
Success Against Pressure/Blitz: B-
Arm Strength: A-
Release: B
Ball Security: D+
Top Starter Potential: C
Strengths:
Arm strength
Rushing upside
Release
Toughness
Internal clock improvements this season
Areas of Improvement:
Pocket Management
Throwing with anticipation
Footwork
Ball security
Ball placement
Comp: Malik Willis
If you wanted to build a quarterback, Jalen Milroe has a lot of the physical tools you would be looking for. He has fantastic arm strength, great speed and vision as a runner, a thick build to hold up against hits, and adequate size. There are definitely a lot of deficits to his game which we’ll get into later, but the mold is there of a great quarterback. Milroe also has a solid release that doesn’t have much dip in the motion and can generate a lot of velocity on his throws. There’s also a bit of a trend of quarterbacks in this draft class patting the ball before throwing it but Milroe does a good job not keying in the defense when he’s throwing the ball. From the pocket, he has a good eye for passing windows and has a relatively low amount of batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Also, he mechanically has a way to go with his footwork but he does a decent job getting his feet and toes set when delivering quick one-read throws. He also doesn’t do too much bouncing in the pocket and does a good job keeping his feet flat. While I would have liked to see more improvements, he did actually make some improvements with his internal clock as he did a better job identifying rushers closing in and getting the ball out. There are definitely deficits in his ability to read a defense but it is a fair question if a new head coach, multiple new pass catchers, and a new system being implemented this season further impacted his processing speed. What can’t be questioned is Milroe’s toughness. He consistently didn’t shy away from hits and was always willing to take a big hit to deliver a ball downfield. While there are limitations to his game, his tough mentality could impress a team.
Unfortunately, though Milroe has a ton of great tools to be a great quarterback, he is still nowhere close at this time. Mechanically, his lower body footwork will need an overhaul. His lower body is often not in sync with his upper body leading to a lot of his inconsistent ball placement. Also, his dropback lacks a consistent rhythm and his technique is often inconsistent with his legs often crossing over each other and being very heel-clicky. His footwork also deteriorates when pressure is getting close leading to a lot of back foot throws that too often miss their mark and end up as bouncers to the pass catcher. In general, his accuracy just becomes very concerning the further he gets from the line of scrimmage. Last season, he was a great deep ball thrower but really struggled in the second half of this year with his deep ball which ended up making the Alabama offense very limited. Also, his ball placement is typically lacking in the short areas of the field leading to reduced opportunities for his pass catchers to pick up yards after the catch. Outside of his footwork, it seems another contributing factor to his accuracy issues is his release point. It just really seems to fluctuate a lot with it sometimes being too early and other times being too late. I think this also played a big part in why he has a lot of trouble putting touch on throws. While I’m talking about his release, he also has a bit of a tendency to pull the ball back a bit too far which slows his process down a bit. Speaking of being a bit slow, he’s still a tick slow in recognizing pressure getting close which is still leading to unnecessary hits and possible turnovers. When he is being proactive with the pass rush, he looks frantic and impatient and will sometimes try to force the ball to his first-read whether they are covered or not. He just doesn’t make the subtle moves in the pocket or show the pocket awareness that is needed in the NFL. When he does make movements, they are all-or-nothing breaks that compromise his base and worsen his accuracy. Now I do give him credit that he does a good job keeping his eyes downfield, but he needs to either be more willing to hit his checkdown or just scramble since he just doesn’t have the accuracy to win through the air on busted plays right now. When he is scrambling, I would like to see a bit more discipline as he can get caught holding the ball in the incorrect arm and will leave it exposed to defenders to knock out which contributed to his high number of fumbles. Finally, his processing as a pass is really far behind and it shows on every snap. Every snap you can catch Milroe staring down his first-read and will often try to force it in as I mentioned before. When his first-read is taken away and he tries to turn elsewhere, you can see the panic in his eyes at times and he can fall apart mechanically. He also struggles to read the leverage of his receiver and has difficulty knowing how to place it where only his pass catcher can make a play. He also has major deficits throwing with anticipation as he will typically wait after his pass catcher makes his cut to release the ball.
With the way my grading works out, it rewards and grades players who are better developed at this time and doesn’t reward on potential as much as other scales. So, despite the low grade, if you have Milroe as your QB3 because of his traits, I totally get it. But there are just a lot of deficiencies from both a mechanically and processing perspective which makes it hard to trust Milroe at this time. There’s a lot of great physical attributes Milroe brings to the table but he’s become less of an outlier with the number of great athletes at the quarterback position. In previous seasons, I could see a team taking him in the first round thanks to his traits. However, with the number of great athletes and teams seemingly doing a better job at scouting quarterbacks in the past few seasons, I see it more likely Milroe could be drafted on day 3 than day 1. It feels mean to say, but I originally had Justin Fields as a comp for Milroe but that feels a bit high right now. Due to this, I think Malik Willis is a fair comp for Milroe. Both can hit the underneath routes with decent accuracy and have a great arm to complete deep balls. However, both suffer from serious deficiencies in footwork, pocket presence, throwing with anticipation, and ability to read a defense. Willis was essentially given a second chance getting to escape the Titans and go to a more QB-friendly system in Green Bay and has developed into a competent backup who can keep his team in the game when he’s not asked to do too much. That might be the best outlook for Milroe early in his career until he makes advancements in the pocket and mechanically.