Field Yates, Matt Miller fiercely debate Mel Kiper Jr.'s prediction of Jalen Milroe to the Giants

Tuesday’s SportsCenter NFL mock draft special revealed a lot of differing opinions when it came to quarterback Jalen Milroe. ESPN pundit Mel Kiper Jr. had the Alabama product going with the 34th overall pick in the second round to the New York Giants.

With veteran quarterback Russell Wilson signing with the Giants this offseason on a one-year deal, it would give them a chance to use this season to develop a rookie before handing over the reigns. Kiper touted Milroe’s elite rushing ability but also pointed to inconsistencies and turnover issues that have some hesitant on pulling the trigger this early.

“Ran a 4.37. A guy who has unbelievable ability as a running quarterback,” Kiper said. “He’s got a rocket arm. He was 10 touchdowns and only one interception after four games, including the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was phenomenal. After that, he was against 1A competition, four touchdowns and 10 picks. Take out the Mercer game where he had two touchdowns. He had three games where his completion percentage was bad. Was low. So again, he didn’t finish strong. He didn’t build off that great start against Georgia, but he’s an awesome talent.

“He’s a great kid who wants to learn and get better. So if you can coach him up — Brian Daboll had Josh Allen coming out of college. I loved him. A lot of guys didn’t. But the bottom line is, he was patient and he developed Josh into the great quarterback he is. Will Jalen Milroe have that kind of upside to do what Josh did? Who the heck knows? But the talent is there to take a shot early in round two.”

Milroe rushed for more touchdowns (20) than he passed for (16) this past season along with 726 yards on the ground and 2,844 through the air. At times he looked unstoppable in both areas, but poor performances against Tennessee and Oklahoma resulted in the Crimson Tide losing those games and accounted for five of his 11 interceptions on the season.

The up-and-down nature of Milroe’s performances throughout his college career make him a difficult prospect to project. Because of that, Field Yates chimed in to say that he doesn’t disagree with Kiper that it’s possible he goes to the Giants, but that it could come at a much later pick.

“I think the range for Jalen Milroe starts around pick 33, which is the Browns one spot ahead of the Giants,” he said. “I think the range extends to maybe like pick 75 or even closer to 100. It’s somewhere in there. Wide range. What I don’t know is where he specifically lands. What I do know is that whoever takes him better have a plan and they better have some patience.

“The best version of Jalen Milroe is terrific. Even Lamar Jackson, a guy who nearly won his third MVP in seven seasons last year, he barely played early on in his NFL career when Joe Flacco was under center for Baltimore. …If you draft Jalen Milroe, you better have a plan of how you’re going to integrate him into your offense. The running skills are dynamic. The downfield throwing can be very good. Lots of layers in his game that you still have to develop. I hope the Giants are patient in this scenario.”

Matt Miller was a bit more blunt in his assessment as he described Kiper’s selection to be “about 40 picks too early.” He also questioned whether the Giants have the patience to develop a quarterback given that coach Brian Daboll is already on the hot seat and needs to win now.

“I’m not the biggest Milroe guy,” Miller said. “I think this is about 40 picks too early for where I would have him ranked. To Mel’s point, is he a good fit for Brian Daboll? Yeah, absolutely. Is Brian Daboll gonna be the head of the New York Giants in a year? They’re fighting for their lives right now to keep those jobs. So I love the idea of, ‘let’s get him behind Russell Wilson for a year or two. Let’s let him develop.’ But this franchise right now can’t trust that they’re gonna be the people who are still in power in one year.

“So even at 34, that’s a little rich for me on Milroe. This is a team that, if they take a quarterback at 34, I think they have to be more ready to play right away instead of somebody that is gonna be a run threat right out of the gate probably in packages. But as a passer, to somebody seeing the field and getting things out on time, Milroe’s just not ready to come in and be that guy.”

It’s clear there’s a lot can happen when it comes to where Jalen Milroe lands. We won have to wait much longer to see, as the NFL Draft will begin later this month on April 24.