Tuesday’s SportsCenter NFL mock draft special revealed a lot of differing opinions when it came to quarterback Jalen Milroe.
ESPN pundit Mel Kiper Jr. had the Alabama product going with the 34th overall pick in the second round to the New York Giants.With veteran quarterback Russell Wilson signing with the Giants this offseason on a one-year deal, it would give them a chance to use this season to develop a rookie before handing over the reigns. Kiper touted Milroe’s elite rushing ability but also pointed to inconsistencies and turnover issues that have some hesitant on pulling the trigger this early.
Ran a 4.37. A guy who has unbelievable ability as a running quarterback,” Kiper said. “He’s got a rocket arm. He was 10 touchdowns and only one interception after four games, including the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was phenomenal. After that, he was against 1A competition, four touchdowns and 10 picks. Take out the Mercer game where he had two touchdowns. He had three games where his completion percentage was bad. Was low. So again, he didn’t finish strong. He didn’t build off that great start against Georgia, but he’s an awesome talent.
He’s a great kid who wants to learn and get better. So if you can coach him up — Brian Daboll had Josh Allen coming out of college. I loved him. A lot of guys didn’t. But the bottom line is, he was patient and he developed Josh into the great quarterback he is. Will Jalen Milroe have that kind of upside to do what Josh did? Who the heck knows? But the talent is there to take a shot early in round two.”
Milroe rushed for more touchdowns (20) than he passed for (16) this past season along with 726 yards on the ground and 2,844 through the air. At times he looked unstoppable in both areas, but poor performances against Tennessee and Oklahoma resulted in the Crimson Tide losing those games and accounted for five of his 11 interceptions on the season.
