All eyes will be on Alabama QB Jalen Milroe this week in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine. The former Crimson Tide signal-caller had an up-and-down final season in Tuscaloosa and had some struggles at the Senior Bowl that saw his draft stock begin to plummet.
There's not a more divisive prospect in the 2025 class than Milroe. He has those who believe that with proper development he could be a star at the next level. He has others who believe he'd be better off changing positions because no amount of development will be enough to make him a viable NFL quarterback.
At one point, Milroe was projected by some as a potential Top 5 pick. He looked like one in September when he played the best game of his career in leading Alabama to a 41-34 win over Georgia. From there, Milroe's flaws were on full display, especially in losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and the ReliaQuest Bowl to Michigan.
Milroe will need a big week at the combine to recover his draft stock and to have a shot at working his way back into the first round. He does plan to throw, and that session on Saturday will undoubtedly draw quite the crowd and media attention.
Let's take a look at his draft stock heading into the NFL Combine.
Jalen Milroe's current NFL Draft stock is trending downward
The Senior Bowl wasn't an outright disaster for Milroe, but it did have an overall negative impact on his draft stock. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. once had Milroe as his No. 3 QB behind only Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. Now, in his latest update on Tuesday, Kiper has Milroe as the No. 5 QB (subscription required to view).
According to Kiper, Milroe has fallen behind Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart and Syracuse's Kyle McCord.
The NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah released a Top 50 on Monday. It did not include Milroe.
After being included in the majority of first rounds in mock drafts just a month ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find one that includes Milroe among the day-one picks now.
A lot of people are intrigued by his talent. There are not many better athletes in this class, period, regardless of position. If he can put together a strong performance in the throwing sessions at the combine he could see his draft stock skyrocket.
There's no set No. 3 QB in this class behind Ward and Sanders. That spot is ripe for the picking and NFL teams love nothing more than they love over-drafting at the QB position. Plenty of questionable prospects have been selected in the first round over the years out of desperation. It would not be a surprise to see a team reach on Milroe in the first round this year.
He just needs to put his best foot forward in Indianapolis this week to make it more of a reality.