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Draft high, dream big: Former Alabama star quarterback Jalen Milroe is an NFL project
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- Draft high, dream big: Former Alabama star quarterback Jalen Milroe is an NFL project
This makes no sense. Absolutely none. But it's the NFL , and here we are.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has apparently been invited to the NFL draft by the league office. Typically what this means is the league believes there's a high probability Milroe will be selected in the first round.
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To this I say: quarterbacks make NFL franchises do the dumbest things.
Draft high, dream big. And more times than not, fail spectacularly.
Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Kenny Pickett; they're all the same. High picks, blown picks.
But here's the difference between those three and Milroe: they were accomplished throwers in college football. Milroe, after two seasons as a starter at Alabama, is still a significant project.
The last time we saw the dynamic and electric player on the field, he was in the process of being exposed by a Michigan team that lost five games in 2024.
In fact, over the last three games of the season – when Alabama needed Milroe in the biggest way while chasing a College Football Playoff bid, and playing in a bowl game – he completed 45 of 82 passes (54.8 percent) for 612 yards, with one touchdown and nine turnovers (five interceptions).
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I ask you, does that sound like an NFL first round draft pick?
But over and over we see this in the NFL draft, where teams become infatuated by quarterbacks after watching them throw against air during a personal workout.
Instead of living by what they believe and know to be true: your tape is your resume.
Three NFL scouts told USA TODAY Sports that they would be shocked if Milroe were picked in the first two days (first three rounds) of the draft. The scouts requested anonymity to protect their draft preparations.
But clearly some team is highly intrigued by Milroe, and as the NFL draft truism goes: all it takes is one.
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Milroe was an exciting and dangerous college player, a quarterback who excelled at 50-50 third level throws — but struggled with the accuracy on first and second level throws. The throws that move the chains.
He stressed defenses with his speed and power in the quarterback run game, but in three upset losses last season to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma – where those defenses stacked the box and forced Milroe to beat them with his arm – he had 28 yards on 36 carries.
He also had six interceptions in those three losses.
Former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe during the NFL scouting combine in February.
There are a handful of teams looking for a quarterback in the draft, with the Titans expected to choose Miami 's Cam Ward with the No.1 overall pick. Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Jaxson Dart of Mississippi are also expected to be chosen on Day 1.
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The difference between those three and Milroe is unmistakable as developed, NFL-ready throwers. Yet someone sees something, and they're willing spend precious draft capital for it.
It appears as though the Steelers – the same Steelers that blew the Pickett pick in 2022 – have zeroed in on Milroe. The idea goes something like this: sign future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the bridge quarterback (imagine that), and Milroe takes over in 2026 or 2027.
Maybe it works. Maybe Milroe sits behind Rodgers and learns the nuances of the game at the highest level from one of the greatest to ever play the position. Just like Jordan Love , an excitable but significant project at Utah State before being selected in the first round by the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
That worked out nearly flawlessly for both Rodgers and Love, who sat for two seasons and is now one of the league's best young quarterbacks.
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But there's also the flip side, where Jones and Pickett and Wilson reside. Where the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 traded three future first round draft picks to move up to No.3 overall and select Trey Lance , the definition of project.
Lance played in eight games for the 49ers, and this season he will be with his third team in five years.
It makes no sense. But it doesn't stop NFL teams from doing the same thing over and over.
Draft high, dream big. And be ready to fail spectacularly.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jalen Milroe gets NFL draft invitation. Will he be first-round pick?
