Former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders have headlined the top quarterback draft prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. With Ward and Sanders expected to go in the top five on Thursday, they expect to make the biggest impact on the franchises that select them.
However, an NFL analyst for ESPN says a different quarterback has the highest ceiling among the quarterbacks who will hear their names called this weekend.
Jalen Milroe’s High Ceiling: Dan Orlovsky Picks Alabama QB Over Ward and Sanders
ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said Tuesday that former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe has the highest ceiling.
While on the NFL Live show, Milroe came up when discussing what the Pittsburgh Steelers will do with their No. 21 overall pick in the first round. After acquiring DK Metcalf, the Steelers could be looking to draft a young quarterback to throw to their new No. 1 target on offense. Orlovsky said that this is a spot where the Alabama quarterback could fit in.
“If Shedeur (Sanders) peaks, he’s going to be a good player,” he said. “If you are the Pittsburgh Steelers, and maybe they have to trade by to either 26, 27, 28. The list that Milroe doesn’t do well is a lot shorter than the list of things he does do well.”
Orlovsky also said that he doesn’t believe that Milroe is a finish product as prospect and a very accurate passer but has a great chance to develop into a star quarterback.
“There is no way you can sit there, watched the same tape I’ve watched, watched the same talent I’ve watched… that guy has no chance to become a star,” he said.
Jalen Milroe at Alabama
Milroe certainly has had his moments in the spotlight while in the college ranks. He committed to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide as a four-star quarterback prospect out of Katy, Texas, in the class of 2021.
Despite redshirting his freshman season in Tuscaloosa, Milroe appeared in a maximum of four games and continued to serve as the Crimson Tide’s backup quarterback in his redshirt freshman season in 2022.
He was named the starting quarterback for Alabama in his sophomore season, and despite being benched for the game against the USF Bulls, Milroe began to shine under center. He finished the 2023 campaign in the top five in passing efficiency rating at 172, while completing 187 of 284 passes for 2,834 yards with 23 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
Milroe also led all quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns with 12. He finished sixth in the final Heisman Trophy vote as well.
Expectations were high in his final season for the Crimson Tide, and Milroe was among the top quarterbacks in the preseason Heisman Trophy watchlist. It wasn’t as great a season for the quarterback as he completed more passes at a lower completion percentage and efficiency rating. (205/319, 64.3 percent, 148.8)
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Milroe’s touchdown numbers went down to only 16 while throwing 11 interceptions. However, the whole team was regressed as it was the first year of the Kalen DoBoer era in Tuscaloosa.
Milroe has shown flashes in his time in college, and with the right development plan by the franchise that selects him, that franchise could have itself.
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