Alabama’s Jalen Milroe came into the 2024 season as one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and he’s done nothing but back that thought up through four games.
Milroe’s performance in the Crimson Tide’s big-time win over Georgia this past weekend may be turning some heads, specifically in NFL circles. He completed 27 of 33 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns (one interception) while also rushing 16 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
It was an all-around, virtuoso performance from Milroe. So much so that NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. believes the Alabama quarterback may be putting himself in a position to be the top quarterback in the 2024 draft.
He was asked by ESPN’s Mike Greenberg on the show “Get Up” what Milroe’s recent performance has done for his draft stock.
“Vying for QB1 in this draft is what he’s doing Greeny,” Kiper said (h/t On3). “You think about where Shedeur Sanders is from Colorado off a really good game, real good performance. Think about Cam Ward from Miami, Florida, Carson Beck, you think about a guy like Quinn Ewers coming back from that injury at Texas. So there’s five vying for QB1.”
That’s a group of five really good quarterbacks, but there is a case that Milroe is the best of the bunch. Not only does he have big-time experience at Alabama, including experience being coached by Nick Saban, but he also checks all the boxes as a modern-day quarterback.
He checks in at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, is well-built and can make a defense pay with his arm or legs. He’s putting it all together right now at Alabama and pro scouts will undoubtedly continue to notice.
“He’s always been a great deep ball thrower, great deep ball accuracy,” Kiper explained. “The progression has been short, intermediate precise passing, accurate passing there. Operations, the details, the pre-snap, he’s getting better at that. Jalen Milroe to me right now is in the mix to be certainly QB1 and be a Top 10 pick overall and maybe even higher than that by the time we get to late April.”
