Alabama head coach Kaelin Deboer raves about new Seahawks QB Jalen Milroe

Fair or not, it seems Shedeur Sanders did not make a great impression on NFL teams during the pre-draft process and they held that against him when it came time to make their picks. On the other end of the spectrum, it sounds like Jalen Milroe absolutely blew away observers during the interview process before eventually getting picked by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round.

For them moment, we're projecting that Milroe will land as the No. 3 quarterback on the team's depth chart behind Drew Lock and Sam Darnold. However, he definitely has the right stuff to move up quickly in the pecking order.

Milroe's former head coach at Alabama for one believes he can compete for the starting job. Here's what Kaelin Deboer had to say about his ex-QB on SiriusXM.

The Seattle Seahawks picked Jalen Milroe in the 3rd Round of this year's NFL Draft.@KalenDeBoer joined @DustyDvoracek & @dannykanell to talk about Jalen and why he expects him to compete for the starting QB job in Seattle.@AlabamaFTBL | #RollTide | @SiriusXMNFL pic.twitter.com/MUqopoOZLA
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) May 2, 2025

There's no doubting that Milroe enters the NFL as a lethal rushing weapon, earning comparisons to the likes of Lamar Jackson and Cam Newton in this part of the game. During his time at Alabama, he racked up 1,577 yards and 33 touchdowns on the ground.

Milroe also comes with elite arm talent, arguably having the best deep ball in the draft class. However, where he still needs to grow is making quick and accurate reads and getting the ball out fast to the short and intermediate parts of the field that make up the bread and butter for NFL quarterbacks - especially as defensive coverages grow more conservative every year.

The scouting report on Milroe also mentions his bailing on clean pockets prematurely and sailing too many passes where some finesse might have worked.

These are all things that Milroe should have plenty of time to work on as he backs up Darnold and Lock - the question will be when is the right time to put him on the field and see how far he's come.

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