Football’s on a collective pause right now, taking a breather. With the Natty and Super Bowl champions crowned, focus has swiftly pivoted towards April’s NFL Draft. But at the risk of inducing some PTSD within the Chiefs fanbase, let’s recall the Super Bowl. For it’s a great case study that’s directly transferable to Jalen Milroe.
Philly’s triumph was largely down to the sum of their parts. Nick Sirianni assimilated a stacked roster of Avengers, not dependent on one player. That said, his SB MVP still was the quarterback. Reiterating how it shall always remain a vital centerpiece no matter how great the supporting cast is. Jalen Hurts was an athletic, run-first, second-round QB deemed replaceable by Alabama. Someone who slid under the center with more questions than answers. Those facets all apply to Jalen Milroe. Without even alluding to the name, there are a bunch of similarities.
He’s got his fair share of fans, but even the most ardent ones can’t argue against Jalen Milroe being an unknown quantity. Down to even the size of his hands! He only started 27 games in college and had only a 2-year spell as QB1, adding to his mystique and uncertainty. Although a legit dual threat, Milroe’s forte is his rushing and scrambling. Both on and off script. Micheal Vick, Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, and even Jayden Daniels. Including, of course, the aforementioned Jalen Hurts. This archetype of quarterback has thrived in the modern NFL. That said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in Jalen Milroe’s future. Those comparisons to bona fide legends and unprecedented rookies are way premature.
Milroe’s arm firmly remains a work in progress. The further he sprays that pigskin, the more inaccuracy creeps in. That said, the ceiling for his talent is pretty high if he’s afforded patience and good coaching. We saw flashes of this ceiling down in Indy at the Combine, as we did with Bama. However, we weren’t treated to the whole buffet, merely an appetizer. Jalen Milroe threw, but didn’t run the 40-yard dash. A drill you’d expect him to test off the charts in. Instead, he’s choosing to have more time to prepare and run it in familiar surroundings at Alabama’s Pro Day.
This has led to Adam Breneman, Penn State’s legendary tight end turned CFB analyst, laying an ultimatum on his broad but under-duress shoulders. Over on his IG, Breneman listed the 5 players for whom their respective Pro Days are most important in the entire draft class. Jalen Milroe earned a placement.
“The NFL Combine was the perfect location for a player like Milroe, but he did not run the 40. Milroe needs the Pro Day to sell teams with his athleticism like Anthony Richardson did a couple years ago,” said Breneman. Well, Richardson sure had a historic process pre-draft that led to the Colts taking a wild stab at him at #3 overall. However, his NFL career hasn’t transpired all that well.
Milroe sure would want to clock a similar time on the dash, but that’s about it. Remember how Hurts is a great lesson for Milroe? Another similarity is that Hurts was a backup during his rookie season. So was the other signal caller from the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes. Who’s another specimen in the hunt a route into the NFL for Jalen Milroe.
It’s easily forgotten that Mahomes was a backup through his rookie season. When he stepped to the mantle in Year 2, he was mesmerizing right away. This was largely due to the grace period he had to cultivate his skills and adapt to the pro game.
Mahomes got drafted to a franchise with Andy Reid. He sat and learned the ropes behind a 3-time Pro Bowl selection and No.1 draft pick in Alex Smith. These two factors can’t be glossed over for reasoning why Mahomes hit the ground running.
How does this relate to Jalen Milroe? One franchise with a veteran QB of their own is seeking to draft him. Looking to tear a leaf out of this Mahomes-esque ‘redshirt’ route. A recipe that has worked far beyond him.
Chiefs’ divisional rivals seek to run a Patrick Mahomes’ type ploy with Jalen Milroe
Of all the wrinkles and byproducts in the first wave of free agency, the Seattle Seahawks took center stage. They signed Sam Darnold, the top available QB, to a 3-year deal north of $100 million. Darnold became available because the Vikings chose to maximize the rookie-scale contract of first-round pick and National Champ JJ McCarthy instead. Darnold’s availability on the free market wasn’t that big a surprise after how his season ended.
But what was a surprise was for the Seahawks to be in the QB market outside of the draft. Which came about when they traded Geno Smith to the Raiders. Vegas was basically a shoo-in to go quarterback with the sixth pick. With Geno in the building, plans have changed. Enter the fray an opportune Jalen Milroe.
New Raiders HC Pete Carroll now gets a reunion with Geno Smith. But with minority owner Tom Brady running football operations, it was always on the board the Raiders still draft a quarterback. It wouldn’t make sense to do so in round 1 now. Well, this QB class may not be brimming with readymade talent, but it is deep. A mid-late round pick on the position is a fair assumption. In fact, it’s reportedly in the pipeline already. Post-Combine, The Athletic reported that the “Raiders came away particularly impressed with [Jalen] Milroe and [Quinn] Ewers after going over X’s and O’s and film.” Ewers, too, is attracting plenty of interest from the AFC.
Jalen Milroe has both the tangibles and intangibles to be a future franchise quarterback. It boils down to how much he can compliment his legs with his arm. The situation someone as raw and malleable as Milroe gets drafted to will decide a ton. He may not get Andy Reid and Alex Smith, but Carroll and Geno aren’t half-bad alternatives. With less than 50 days left to the draft, Milroe remains in a trans. His performance at the Pro Day, living up to the billing that Adam Breneman is slating him for, will go a long way. He’ll seek to “let the naysayers know.”
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