Jim Nagy exposes advantage Jalen Milroe has over Jalen Hurts in NFL Draft process

Some serious money can be made in Mobile during Senior Bowl week, specifically quarterback. Plenty of examples are out there but Jalen Hurts is certainly one of them. Hurts entered the process as a potential late Day 2, even Day 3 guy, but was eventually drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Enter Jalen Milroe, who is looking to improve his own draft stock at the Senior Bowl. There could be comparisons to his situation and Hurts’ but Jim Nagy does believe Milroe does have an advantage early on. Nagy says as of now, teams are higher on Milroe than they were on Hurts during the 2020 NFL Draft cycle.

“Sitting up here four, five years ago — Jalen Hurts was a fourth or fifth round pick for most teams that year going back to our calls in November,” Nagy said. “Jalen Milroe is certainly higher than that on most team’s boards right now so at least he’s starting the process at a better place… So Jalen’s got a really cool opportunity right now to help himself like Jalen Hurts did.”

Mock drafts are not done by NFL teams but from the outside, Milroe’s stock does seem a lot higher compared to Hurts’ back in the day. CBS Sports recently had Milroe going No. 3 overall to the New York Giants, just behind Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has him as the No. 4 quarterback in his position rankings.

Besides sharing a similar first name, the similarities between Milroe and Hurts stand out. Both are viewed as dual-threat quarterbacks, with questions of throwing ability being a talking point of their draft process. Nagy even joked with reporters, hoping he would not be asked if Milroe would get running back snaps at the Senior Bowl as he did with Hurts.

The Alabama connection is there too, playing under Nick Saban at one point while Milroe got one year of development with Kalen DeBoer. As the Senior Bowl is in Mobile, there can be some extra attention given to former Crimson Tide stars.

Milroe struggled down the stretch for Alabama, throwing just one touchdown and five interceptions in the final three games of the season. His legs looked good against Auburn — going for 107 yards and three touchdowns — but combined against Oklahoma and Michigan, he ran for 14 yards on 31 carries.

Even so, NFL teams might be ready to select Milroe somewhere on Friday night in Green Bay. Perform well in front of scouts, general managers, and people in the front office — Milroe might shoot up a few boards as Hurts did.