The depth at quarterback atop the 2025 NFL Draft got a boost Thursday. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe officially declared for the draft.
BREAKING: Alabama QB Jalen Milroe declares for the NFL Draft.
— Chris Vannini (@chrisvannini.com) January 2, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft are Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders. Both QB’s are expected to come off the board in the top five, if not the top three. Leaving the teams outside the top 3-5 teams either taking a player at another position or potentially reaching for a quarterback.
The next two QB’s on the board are Milroe and Georgia’s Carson Beck. And there could be as many as five teams seriously considering taking one of them higher than their draft projections suggest.
Among those teams is the Raiders, who currently are in line for the eighth overall pick and whose range is from 3-10, depending on how things go with them and several other teams in the season finale.
In that range, they will have to give someone like Milroe a very hard look.
Milroe was considered one of the top QB prospects in the country following his redshirt sophomore season, but took a step back this past season. So much so, many thought he might return to school to try and raise his stock for the 2026 Draft. But today he decided being an NFL project in this weak QB class was his best option.
For those who think taking Milroe in the top ten is a mistake because it’s a reach, it’s important to remember everyone said the same about Washington’s Michael Penix and Oregon’s Bo Nix.
Penix was taken at eight overall by the Falcons and Nix was take at 12 by the Broncos. Nix went on to have a fantastic season, finishing third in the race for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Penix was named the starter for the Falcons two weeks ago and the Falcons are 1-1 in those games.
That’s not to say Milroe has that kind of potential of either Penix or Nix, but it does suggest that quarterbacks are not to be viewed the same as other positions in draft projections. They are often taken higher than other positions, because if you hit on one, it’s far more impactful than other position hits.