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New York Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why the Seahawks couldn't resist Jalen Milroe, both the player and person: ‘He's unique'
RENTON, Wash. — In February, John Schneider said that for the Seattle Seahawks to draft a quarterback this offseason, the board would have to speak to them on draft weekend. Hearing from the longtime general manager and coach Mike Macdonald on Friday night, it sounds like what spoke volumes was Jalen Milroe's game film — and his personality. Advertisement 'He's a unique, special young man, special athlete,' Schneider said. Seattle selected with Milroe, a two-year starter at Alabama, with the No. 92 pick, which the team received from the Las Vegas Raiders in the Geno Smith trade. He's the third quarterback Schneider has selected in 16 drafts with the Seahawks (Russell Wilson and Alex McGough are the others). Milroe was the third and final pick made on Friday by Seattle, which gave up pick Nos. 52 and 82 to draft safety Nick Emmanwori at No. 35, then acquired tight end Elijah Arroyo with pick No. 50. Milroe is the splash of the class. For years, Schneider has talked about the importance of drafting a quarterback every year, only to never do it, barring those two exceptions. There had to be something special about Milroe to snap the streak. There were two things, it turns out: who he is and how he plays. Speaking to the latter, Macdonald described Milroe as a defense's worst nightmare. 'Quarterbacks who can extend the play are incredibly difficult to defend,' Macdonald said. 'The worst thing in the world is you play the first (part) of the play perfectly on defense, and you're like, 'All right, sweet, we did it.' And the guy still has the ball, and you've got to defend the next play, and then sometimes a third play. 'He can kill you in the first play, he can kill you in the second play, he can kill you in the third play. It's not a fun existence to live in consistently. He has that ability.' Milroe visited Seattle ahead of the draft and loved it. Seattle loved him, too. The two sides talked football on the visit, but the other purpose of bringing him to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center was to learn about the young man under the helmet. Schneider brought up Milroe winning the William V. Campbell Trophy (also known as the Academic Heisman), his work ethic and the influence of being raised by a mother who was in the Navy and a father who was a Marine. In short, they loved Milroe the person as much as Milroe the player. Advertisement 'You feel the urgency and the passion for his vision he wants for his career, where he wants to go,' Macdonald said when asked about Milroe's visit. 'He's incredibly determined. This guy is a tireless worker, highly respected by his teammates, highly intelligent and he's just really determined to become a great player and a great quarterback.' The mental makeup of the quarterback is obviously important because of the leadership required to play the position, but more specifically, it's notable given Seattle's current setup. Milroe is not slated to be Seattle's starting quarterback. (Assuming full health, Sam Darnold will take 90 percent of Seattle's snaps this season, Macdonald said, even if Milroe could play situationally because of his mobility.) He might not even be Seattle's backup quarterback. And he might not even be QB3 until the team trades Sam Howell. Much like Russell Wilson when he arrived as a third-round pick, Milroe will have to operate with the humility to put his head down and learn from the veterans while also possessing the confidence to believe he can eventually unseat them when given the opportunity. 'I'm coming in to learn, grow and bring nothing but positive vibes to the offense and fulfill all that is (necessary) with my role on the team,' Milroe said. 'Of course, once I get there, I'll understand my niche, for sure. But ideally, I'm competing. No matter what day it is, no matter how many reps I get, I'm competing for when an opportunity presents itself at the quarterback position.' That's the humble Milroe. But he also doesn't lack confidence, either. When asked about his message to the teams that passed on him in the draft, Milroe dropped a modern-day colloquialism athletes use to express that anyone in their path has a beatdown coming. 'Belt to ass.' Advertisement Seattle's other two picks Friday were less flashy but have the potential to be more impactful in the immediate future. Seattle considered Emmanwori so special that the team nearly traded back into the first round to select him on Thursday night. 'He's been a guy our whole staff has been excited about the whole process,' Macdonald said. 'How do you watch his tape and not see the potential of what he can become?' Emmanwori's versatility will give Seattle depth at safety, and he projects similarly to Baltimore's Kyle Hamilton, an All-Pro player because of his size and ability to impact the game near the line of scrimmage as a slot defender, with the range to play at the third level and keep a lid on the defense. 'I can do it all, honestly,' Emmanwori said. 'I don't want to put myself in one box. But I think I can do it all. I can play in the back end; I can play towards the box. I can line up at nickel. I don't really want to pencil myself in. A lot of people probably have me penciled in as a box safety. 'I am a little bit more dominant towards the box, but I also can be dominant in the post.' Seattle's first-round pick, Grey Zabel, built a connection with Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson. One of its second picks has a connection to another former Seahawks star: Kam Chancellor. Both Emmanwori and Chancellor were coached by Torrian Gray, a longtime Virginia Tech defensive backs coach who currently holds the same position at South Carolina. Gray used to tell Emmanwori he was very similar to Chancellor, a player once considered a 'tweener' due to his unique size for a safety. 'Kam Chancellor is one of my favorite safeties ever,' Emmanwori said. 'Used to watch him all the time on TV, used to pull up his highlights before games. It's crazy.' Even crazier: Chancellor, according to Emmanwori, sent the draft hopeful a direct message on Thursday. He told Emmanwori about his pre-draft journey, which included teams and pundits pigeonholing him as a box safety. Chancellor, of course, proved many detractors wrong, and he expressed that he looked forward to Emmanwori doing the same. Advertisement 'That was crazy,' Emmanwori said. 'One of my football idols shot me a text, shot me a follow, so it was great.' Much like the selection of Zabel, the Arroyo pick marked a deviation from Schneider's previous draft trends. He had never taken a first-round guard before Zabel, and prior to Friday night, he had never selected a second-round tight end. So, what made Arroyo different? 'This guy can run an extensive route tree,' Macdonald said. 'To have to account for a tight end body on the field and him also being able to split out wide, do 'X' receiver type of things, bigger body than we probably have right now on our roster, it just provides a ton of value. And then he's going to go in there as a tight end inline and create some of the bigger personnel formations. (That) is the vision we have for him.' Schneider began his opening remarks Friday night by declaring this a 'cool day in Seahawks history.' He was beaming when he said it, like a child who received everything on his Christmas list. Schneider had a similar grin on his face later in the evening when summarizing the feeling of landing Zabel, Emmanwori, Arroyo and Milroe. 'All four, the people, the competitors, the athletes, I can't describe it any differently other than to say they feel special,' Schneider said. 'They feel different. It's a great thing.'
Miami Herald
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Do Dolphins draft a quarterback? Feedback on their options and one mocked to Miami
Except for taking a flier on Skylar Thompson in the seventh round, the Dolphins have bypassed drafting a quarterback during the Tua Tagovailoa era, even though such a move would have offered potential protection — and another option — if Tagovailoa's career were to be derailed by concussions or injuries, or if he simply regresses. But will they this week? 'The Miami Dolphins are [a team] sources are eyeing as a potential quarterback-grabber in the second, third or fourth rounds,' CBS insider Jonathan Jones reported. Even after signing Zach Wilson to be their No. 2, there are signs they might, if one they like is on the board. Plugged-in agent Drew Rosenhaus predicted on his weekly WSVN Fox 7 segment that Miami will draft a quarterback. But general manager Chris Grier said Miami isn't looking to draft a quarterback in the first round. Tyler Huntley said in December that the Dolphins conveyed they wanted to re-sign him but that hasn't happened, suggesting they could try to find a third quarterback in the draft. Then there was Grier's stern warning after the season that Tagovailoa not doing enough to protect himself from injury is 'unacceptable to us.' Tagovailoa's contract extension last summer means the sides will be married at least two more seasons. A divorce before 2027 has significant financial consequences. The Dolphins hope that Tagovailoa is their starter well into the next decade. But if the Dolphins opt to invest in another young arm, here would be the options in rounds two through five (picks 48, 98, 116, 135, 150, 155), presuming Mississippi's Jaxson Dart joins Cam Ward and Shadeur Sanders as first-round picks and also keeping in mind that Miami likely has too many needs to use 48 on a quarterback: ▪ Alabama's Jalen Milroe: A Crimson Tide combo in the Dolphins QB room? Miami interviewed him earlier this offseason and has shown interest. The production was somewhat underwhelming last season, including a mediocre 16-to-11 TD-to-interception ratio. And his deep ball metrics were poor last season: 22 for 56 on passes thrown 20 or more air yards. That 39.3% was well behind Ohio State QB Will Howard's 57.4, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (56.3), Syracuse's Kyle McCord (52.6) and UM's Cam Ward (45.3). But in a league where many of the top quarterbacks are mobile, Milroe would add that dimension; he led Alabama with 726 rushing yards last season on 4.8 per carry and his 20 touchdowns were eighth in FBS and second among quarterbacks. He won the William Campbell Trophy, known as the Academic Heisman, and he has a high football IQ. Lance Zierlein said Milroe 'is an explosive athlete who is very capable outside the pocket, but he lacks accuracy, touch and decision-making when he's inside the pocket. A lack of anticipation and timing leads to interceptions and contested throws to intermediate areas of the field. He has an NFL arm, but he might need to fine-tune his footwork and delivery to improve accuracy on all three levels. 'He's built like a Will linebacker, runs like a receiver and is a threat to hit the home run on called runs and scrambles. Milroe was a much better deep-ball passer in 2023, but his 2024 regression makes it harder to project success from the pocket at a high enough rate to become a capable NFL starter. A strong arm and elite speed will have teams intrigued, but if he doesn't make it as a starter, it's incumbent upon his team to find a way to get the ball in his hands with packaged plays.' Most evaluators project him for the second round. ▪ Louisville's Tyler Shough: Both Shough and Syracuse's Kyle McCord would be intriguing options if available at 98, which is high debatable; Reuter projects Shough 83rd overall and McCord 104th. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said Shough is 'big and strong, has a lot of arm talent. One of the things with him is pocket awareness stuff. He bails too much instead of just sliding, shuffling, finding space within the pocket.' Shough, who once backed up Justin Herbert at Oregon, had 23 touchdowns and six interceptions but his age will work against him with some teams; he turns 26 in September. His injuries also are a concern; he was hurt three consecutive years at Texas Tech before staying healthy in his one year at Louisville. And he completed just 36.7% of throws traveling at least 20 air yards. 'He's a talented passer with a live arm who is capable of making pro throws both intermediate and deep but battles inconsistency,' Zierlein said. 'His size and passing talent will be enticing, but durability and mobility concerns are impediments he will need to overcome.' ▪ McCord: After a 24-touchdown, six-interception season at Ohio State in 2023, McCord was even better in his one year at Syracuse, closing with an FBS-leading and ACC-record 4,779 passing yards with 34 TDs and 12 interceptions. He had a 120.4 passer rating on throws of 20 yards or longer. Jeremiah said he reminded 'me a lot of Derek Carr at Fresno. Quick fit, quick eyes, accurate, got touch down the field, can gas it up and give you some velocity when needed. He played real aggressive and was a little frenetic at times and ran himself into some sacks.' But Zierlein is among analysts who view him as likely nothing more than a NFL backup, comparing him to Bears disappointment Mitchell Trubisky. Zierlein said McCord 'was too inconsistent at Ohio State, relative to the talent around him, but he proved to be confident and productive last season at Syracuse without that same level of supporting talent. 'He has enough arm to make window throws and push the ball around the field. McCord seeks to attack coverages vertically instead of operating as a 'Checkdown Charlie.' While he can hit chunk throws, his decision-making and ball placement aren't always good fits for his gunslinger mentality. His mobility inside and outside the pocket is average. McCord has good size, adequate talent and commendable resilience. He could find a home as a backup quarterback with modest upside.' ▪ Oregon's Dillon Gabriel: Reuter predicts the Dolphins will take him 116th, and The Athletic's Dane Brugler forecasts Miami to take him at 135. He was a third-team All-American, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and third in Heisman Trophy voting after an exceptional year at Oregon in which he was second in FBS with a 72.9 completion rate, seventh with 3,857 passing yards, tied for eighth with 30 passing TDs vs. six interceptions and seven rushing touchdowns. Last season, he had eight TDs, one interception, that elite 56.3 completion percentage and 131.6 passer rating on passes thrown at least 20 yards. He set the FBS record with 188 career total TDs and 63 career starts at QB, topping Bo Nix's 61. His age (24) and more so, his size (5-11) work against him. Zierlein calls Gabriel 'an older and smaller QB prospect' who 'offers a tremendous amount of game experience and productivity. He operates with poise and confidence from the pocket. His field vision is average, but he typically takes care of the football. … 'Gabriel's accuracy and timing is accurate on shorter throws, but the placement becomes erratic when pushed outside of his comfortable range. Gabriel requires a very specific offensive fit, but he's a gamer with enough good tape to have a chance to become a decent backup.' ▪ Ohio State's Will Howard: Surrounded by elite talent, the Kansas State transfer was plenty good enough in helping guide Ohio State to a national championship. He ranked second in the FBS with 73.0 completion percentage (309 for 423), fourth with 35 passing TDs (compared with 10 INTs) and sixth with 4,010 passing yards. He was named offensive MVP in the national championship game, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 57 yards on 16 carries. He had a 123.9 passer rating on deep balls, aided by All-World receiver Jeremiah Smith. Jeremiah said 'he's a touch thrower, quick to get to No. 3 in his read. The big question is going to be the arm strength.' Zeirlein said the 6-4 Howard 'brings outstanding size and toughness to the table. He showed good improvement over the last three seasons. [But] unless he proves he can play chess against NFL defenses, he might not have enough in the tool box to become more than an average backup.' ▪ Texas' Quinn Ewers: A somewhat polarizing prospect who had 31 TD passes last season (tied for sixth in FBS) but also 12 interceptions, too many questionable reads and limited escapability. Jeremiah's take: 'I know he wasn't healthy, but he did not take the step I was hoping he would take. Still young at 21. Quick feet quick release. 'Got into a lot of bad habits. Not trusting what he's seeing. Got real sloppy with his feet.' Zierlein said 'Ewers' arm talent and game flashes are enticing, but he hasn't learned to play the game with a high enough level of consistency. The raw talent and upside will be alluring for pro-style passing attacks, but it's fair to wonder if he will ever be able to rise above the talent on his roster and the ability of his play-caller to create favorable terms.' ▪ Notre Dame's Riley Leonard: The Duke transfer threw 21 TDs and 8 INTs and also ran for 906 yards (4.9 per rush) and 17 touchdowns while being named the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl MVP. Zierlein said: 'Leonard has adequate size and is an above-average competitor with good toughness. However, he fails to hit the mark as a pro-caliber passer. He's a dual-threat quarterback who falls more firmly on the side of grit than gifted.... He needs a solid running game and advantages at the skill positions to function on a pro level, but even then his play might be more dependent on his legs than his eyes and arm. ▪ Indiana's Kurt Rourke: After five years at Ohio, he transferred to the Hoosiers and set school single-season record with 29 passing TDs. He was eighth in FBS with a 69.4% completion rate, tied for 10th with 29 passing TDs and threw just five interceptions. He did it playing on a torn ACL all season, which required surgery in January. Zierlein's view: 'Rourke earns a draftable grade because of his size, experience and production. He's coming off an ACL tear, but the injury might not have a major impact on his draft slotting since his game isn't built on mobility. While he can make pro throws, the accuracy and placement is average.' The view here: The Dolphins simply have too many needs to pick a quarterback at 13, 48 or 98. But 116 could be justified if they have a conviction on someone.
