Field Yates identifies the biggest question on Jalen Milroe entering Senior Bowl, 2025 NFL Draft

Jalen Milroe is undoubtedly one of the biggest draws for both fans and NFL personnel during Senior Bowl week in Mobile.

As Senior Bowl practices kicked off Tuesday afternoon from famed Ladd-Peebles Stadium, all eyes are on the now-former Alabama quarterback in the days leading up to Saturday’s 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl game at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

That includes ESPN insider Field Yates, who was on-site in Mobile during a Tuesday afternoon hit on SportsCenter and revealed what he’s eager to see from Milroe throughout the week.

Yates specifically cited a desire to see the uber-athletic Milroe show improvement in his timing and rhythm passing, especially on short and medium plays.

“Let’s begin with Jalen Milroe, who is just electric as a runner for Alabama — that’s not the question though. He might run a 4.37 (40-yard-dash) once we get to the Combine, but we’ve got to see if he can refine his precision passing game,” Yates said Tuesday afternoon. “Can this guy consistently hit open receivers in the short and intermediate passing game? He’s got a rocket down the field, but that being said, he needs to be more consistent. Because in the NFL, you can’t live off of vertical shots and quarterback runs.”

Jalen Milroe looking to improve stock ahead of 2025 NFL Draft

Milroe remains a controversial figure among NFL personnel and fans alike after seemingly taking a slight step back as a passer in 2024, his second season as the Crimson Tide’s starter but his first under new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. Milroe finished 2024 with a SEC-best 36 total touchdowns, including an astounding 20 rushing scores to rank second among all SEC players last season, to go along with 2,844 passing yards and 16 touchdowns to 11 interceptions on 64.3-percent passing. He also added 726 rushing yards in 2024 to finish with 1,257 rushing yards and 32 total rushing scores the past two seasons.

Nevertheless, Milroe is widely considered to be among the next-best quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class, but is generally thought to be well-behind the draft’s Top 2 QBs — Miami‘s Cam Ward and Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders.

Of course, Milroe can certainly help his own cause, and improve his draft prospects in the process, with a strong showing during Senior Bowl week, when NFL decision-makers flock to Mobile to get a first-hand look at many of the NFL Draft’s top prospects.

Milroe is one of four quarterbacks on the American Team roster, joining Ole Miss‘ Jaxson Dart, Notre Dame‘s Riley Leonard and Memphis‘ Seth Henigan. Meanwhile, Oregon‘s Dillon Gabriel, Louisville‘s Tyler Shough and Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma of Wilfrid Laurier are on the National Team roster.