The 2025 NFL Draft is just five days away, and there's not a more polarizing prospect in the class than Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. His supporters believe he is perhaps the most talented player in the class, and while he may not be ready to be a starter day one, if a team is patient, they can reap major rewards down the line.
His detractors don't believe he's an NFL QB and don't believe any amount of time and patience is going to change that.
You can count NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah in the "pro" Milroe camp. He spoke to reporters on Friday and gave his assessment on the talented Crimson Tide signal-caller.
"The phrase with him that’s used more than any other, of all the quarterbacks in this draft, that’s the lottery ticket,” Jeremiah told reporters on Friday. “Like if you want to just take a lottery ticket that you could hit huge on if it all works out and all comes together, he’s got the highest upside of anybody in this draft, and that goes all the way up to Cam Ward to No. 1."
Milroe's best feature is his ability to run the football. He is as dynamic as any player in this draft class in the open field. He has the arm strength to make all the throws, but his ability to process and read defenses will have to improve at the next level.
Jalen Milroe's draft stock has steadily been rising
Jeremiah views Milroe as a "classic second-round pick." It wasn't long ago that Milroe was viewed in the third-round range, but his draft stock has been trending upward in recent weeks.
Milroe recently accepted an invite to the NFL Draft in Green Bay, which, while not an automatic indicator of him being a first-round pick, showed that the NFL is higher on him than most experts believed prior.
Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are generally viewed as the top two quarterbacks in this class, but the competition for the No. 3 spot has been pretty wide open. Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart has some momentum for it, but Milroe is right in the thick of it, too.
Quarterback is the position most over-drafted each year. Teams reach for quarterbacks every year. With Milroe's talent and upside, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see him selected in the first round on Thursday night.