There may not be a better athlete in the 2025 NFL Draft class than Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. After a long wait, Milroe finally heard his name called near the end of the 3rd Round by the Seattle Seahawks with the 92nd overall pick.
While the Seahawks fully intend on taking advantage of his athleticism immediately and installing a "Milroe" package, you should pump the brakes on any discussion of a Taysom Hill-like role for the former Alabama star.
Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald wants everyone to understand that they drafted Milroe to play QB.
In a story on NFL.com, Macdonald was quoted as saying:
"The way (the Saints) used (Hill) was more in a tight end-fullback hybrid role, sometimes taking snaps; Jalen is a quarterback through and through.
"He's going to be trained to play quarterback for us. When he's in there, he's going to be playing quarterback. But the athleticism is going to come to life when he's on the field."
There have been plenty of doubters on whether Milroe is ever going to be a legitimate NFL QB. Plenty of folks have questioned whether he would be better served to change positions. Milroe has rebuffed any question of not being a QB. It appears his new head coach is in total agreement.
Milroe landed in a good situation with the Seahawks
The Seahawks have no plans to try and make Milroe into something he's not. They intend on developing him as a QB while early on taking advantage of what he can bring to the field right away.
The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold this offseason to a big contract. He is the unquestioned starter and will give Milroe a veteran to learn from. Early on, I would expect Milroe to be QB3 on the Seahawks roster. They also brought in Drew Lock this offseason to serve as Darnold's backup.
Most NFL teams don't keep three QBs active on gameday, but I suspect the Seahawks will be one of the teams that does. Darnold will start and Lock will likely be the backup in case of an injury to Darnold. But Milroe will likely see some snaps out of a 10-15 play package the Seattle coaching staff installs immediately.
He'll learn and master that package without having any real expectations of needing to be the team's starting QB. It's the perfect situation for him as he learns how to play the position at this level.
Seattle's patience could pay major dividends down the line. Milroe arguably has the highest ceiling of any QB from this draft class.