Approaching the 2025 NFL Draft, we’ll be scouting as many of the top prospects that the Pittsburgh Steelers could have their eye on anywhere from Rounds 1 through 7. We’ll break down the prospects themselves, strengths and weaknesses, projected draft capital and their fit with the Steelers.
Could Jalen Milroe be the best realistic option at quarterback for the Steelers in this year’s draft?
Position: Quarterback
Class: Senior
Size: 6’2, 217 pounds
Age: 22
Projected draft round: 2
Stats via Sports Reference
The Jalen Milroe discourse this offseason has averaged an amount of hyperbole that’s rare to see even in a hot-take-heavy pre-draft cycle.
Recently, an unnamed “AFC coordinator” made the claim that Milroe has Lamar Jackson’s speed with Cam Newton’s toughness, while plenty of those on the other side of the debate have flat-out declared that he’s a terrible football player.
Milroe’s draft stock is defined by his wild ups and downs as a starter at Alabama, but neither of those extremes paint an accurate picture.
We’ll start with Milroe as a runner, where there seems to be the most consensus. Spoiler alert: he’s the best rushing quarterback in this draft class, to the point where there’s a legitimate chance he develops into some sort of ball-carrying weapon in the NFL even if the quarterback gig doesn’t work out.
His first-step quickness is incredible for a quarterback. Watching him run the read option was always a treat because of how quickly he could get downfield.
Milroe was electric on designed quarterback runs and constantly turned scrambles into big gains. His running highlights show off his impressive speed and some ability to make defenders miss in the open field.
Before the comparisons get too out of hand, Milroe is a strong, tough player — but in the games I watched he wasn’t a true, Cam Newton-esque battering ram with the football. And the Lamar Jackson comparisons are a bit rich even if I’ll concede that they have similar open-field speed. But Jackson is in a league of his own when it comes to elusiveness and the uncanny vision to dart through gaps in the defense.
Still, Milroe is very, very good with the ball in his hands. He has 33 career rushing touchdowns, with 20 coming last season.
As a passer, his evaluation gets far more complicated. But we can start with the good once again.
Milroe’s arm strength is not even a question. He can push the ball downfield and I’d say his deep ball might be the strongest aspect of his passing abilities. It’s not always perfect, but there are moments of incredible accuracy.
His arm strength is great, though. Some deep balls dropped in the bucket on his tape. First throw in this clip is my favorite I saw of his all year. pic.twitter.com/7stQ51bhd8
— Ryland Bickley (@_Ryland_B) April 24, 2025
Milroe has a fast release and can generate power without fully stepping into his throws. While his out-of-structure playmaking is wildly inconsistent (more on that later), there are some elite throws scattered across his tape: cross-body passes that laser into tight windows downfield.
Now for the bad.
For as many insane, highlight-reel plays that Milroe generates, there are just as many missed layups.
Milroe’s biggest issue is his tendency to sail balls downfield. He chronically misses late and high.
While I’m hardly the first person to point it out, a lot of these issues seem to be mechanical. Milroe whips his upper body forward to generate power, but his lower body is significantly less active. He doesn't step into throws consistently. Fix that, and I think we’ll see some improvements.
Every now and then, he’ll perfectly rip a ball to a seam route or crosser that shows off his upside.
Decision-making is another major problem. Milroe has his fair share of head-scratching throws on tape.
Paired with his tendency to miss high, Milroe just isn’t a very wide receiver-friendly quarterback at this stage in his career. His touch is spotty, and he was consistently bailed out by his pass-catchers with acrobatic grabs instead of hitting them in stride.
I didn’t see many instances of him throwing a receiver open; he was often late to throw the ball on curls, and he’d toss the odd hospital ball from time to time as well.
Milroe isn’t a rhythm passer, generally a little late to get through his reads. His inconsistencies in the short game mean he’s a boom-or-bust playmaker rather than someone who wins by dissecting defenses.
The good news is he shows the toughness to hang in the pocket and deliver throws, and generally isn’t too quick to scramble.
The downside of that is his pocket awareness could still use some work; Milroe is routinely slow to sense pressure, resulting in last-second panic plays.
Milroe has all the physical tools to succeed, but has a significant amount of work to do before he’s an NFL-caliber passer. The good news is he was playing against SEC competition in college rather than being an FCS project, but the flip side is that he was surrounded by excellent talent and coaching at Alabama and it still never “clicked” in his four years with the Crimson Tide.
But Milroe seems coachable. Just about everyone who’s interacted with him this draft cycle has raved about his character, work ethic, and leadership. If Milroe aced his interviews as much as the consensus seems to think, that could be enough to convince a team to take a gamble on the talented quarterback.
Milroe is a massive project, but I’ll admit the good/bad ratio was a bit better than I expected when I finally dove into his 2024. In a weak quarterback class, his upside stands out in a big way. Is Milroe first-round good? I’d say that’s a bit rich given his five touchdowns to 10 interceptions in SEC play last season. But it’s certainly reasonable to take a risk on him Day 2.
Strengths
Elite runner at the quarterback position; high-end speed, burst, and production; some power
Great arm strength
Quick throwing motion
Flashes of high-end NFL throws: downfield accuracy and difficult completions on the move
Tough in the pocket and ability to drive throws on a line when needed
Reports of high character
Weaknesses
Consistently missed ugly in 2024
Questionable decision-making and processing
Propensity to miss throws high; issues with throwing mechanics
A number of bad passes on shallow targets
Underdeveloped pocket presence
Lacks touch and anticipation
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com
Milroe is an explosive athlete who is very capable outside the pocket, but he lacks accuracy, touch and decision-making when he’s inside the pocket. A lack of anticipation and timing leads to interceptions and contested throws to intermediate areas of the field. He has an NFL arm, but he might need to fine-tune his footwork and delivery to improve accuracy on all three levels. He can get through his reads when he’s confident and feels protected but becomes predictable and easier for defenses to manipulate when he’s rattled. He’s built like a Will linebacker, runs like a receiver and is a threat to hit the home run on called runs and scrambles. Milroe was a much better deep-ball passer in 2023, but his 2024 regression makes it harder to project success from the pocket at a high enough rate to become a capable NFL starter. A strong arm and elite speed will have teams intrigued, but if he doesn’t make it as a starter, it’s incumbent upon his team to find a way to get the ball in his hands with packaged plays.
Nick Akridge of PFF
Milroe in his current form is a typical high-ceiling prospect who has the athleticism to be a dynamic quarterback at the next level. To reach that ceiling, he’ll need a lot of development. His arm talent and running ability will elevate his floor, but that won’t be enough if he can’t improve how fast he processes information and his accuracy on routine throws. He’ll need to be in a quarterback-friendly system that won’t require him to play right away, with a coach who has a track record of developing quarterbacks. Malik Willis‘ situation in Green Bay is the path for Milroe to be successful at the next level.
Kyle Crabbs of The 33rd Team
Milroe is not a one-size-fits-all quarterback. He is not likely to be a great fit for traditional West Coast offense schemes due to his ball placement inconsistencies and his lack of presence layering middle-of-the-field throws. Teams with a power-oriented run scheme and an appetite to assimilate quarterback run scheme into their offense make the most sense, particularly if they have vertical passing threats on the perimeter to counterpunch off of. Milroe should be considered a developmental starter, but his running ability could justify a package of plays early in his playing career, not dissimilar to how Baltimore rotated in Lamar Jackson during his rookie season.
To go off of Kyle Crabbs’ scouting report cited above, Milroe isn’t a great fit for every offense. But the Steelers’ offense? If he develops, he’s the type of passer Arthur Smith is looking for. Big arm that can stretch the field. Ability to dominate in the quarterback run game. Milroe’s character and AFC North-caliber toughness are a good look as well.
But can Milroe develop? More importantly, can the Steelers develop Milroe? He’s almost certainly not close to being starting-caliber as a rookie, but there are extremely high-end traits there if it all works out. The best bet is using him as an occasional change of pace runner his rookie year and hoping he makes strides by the 2026 offseason. I still don’t have a first-round grade on Milroe, but the Steelers could do worse at No. 21, and I’m on board if he lasts to No. 83.
TL;DR: Milroe possesses elite athletic traits and lived up to the hype as a dangerous runner at the quarterback position during his time at Alabama. As a passer, he has a lot more work to do, with major inconsistencies in nearly every aspect of his game. The arm strength is there, but he throws far too many air balls and makes dangerous decisions. He’ll need to learn under a veteran for a year at minimum to develop into an NFL starter down the road.
What are your thoughts on Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe? And which draft prospects would you like to see profiled next? Let us know in the comments below!
