Jalen Milroe Reveals Details on Meeting with Steelers
During an appearance on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Friday, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe revealed some in-depth details on his meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ brass prior to his pro day last month.
Milroe had dinner with general manager Omar Khan, head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterbacks coach Tom Arth in Tuscaloosa. The young signal-caller raved about Tomlin’s cool, calm and collected demeanor.
“It’s funny. Everybody has their own type of personality, right? You got the stern coach, you got the laid-back coach, you got the relationship-oriented coach. Coach Tomlin was chill, laid back when I met with him,” Milroe said. “It was definitely a cool visit, for sure. You always think you gotta keep your head up high. You gotta be serious the whole conversation. Nah, it was a laid-back conversation. And of course, we talked ball. We talked game and stuff like that. But it was definitely a more laid-back conversation.”
Milroe put his elite athleticism on display at his pro day, running a blazing 4.37-second 40-yard-dash. That surely helped his draft stock, but not enough to push him into the first round.
Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd claims the Steelers will use the No. 21 overall pick on Milroe if he’s still available when they’re on the clock. That’s how much they like him.
“I talked to an NFL exec last night, very well-connected, and this is a keep your head on a swivel, Aaron Rodgers. I’m told the Steelers really like Jalen Milroe, 21st pick, first round. So if Aaron signs with Pittsburgh, it’s going to become Kirk Cousins,” Cowherd said on FS1’s The Herd. “They’re taking a quarterback. If the 21st pick, Milroe’s not taken, Pittsburgh is leaning now and taking him.”
Milroe, 22, is an intriguing prospect. Over the past two seasons, he threw for 5,678 yards, 39 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,257 yards and 32 touchdowns.
According to a report by Dane Brugler of The Athletic, Milroe has received and accepted an invite to attend the first round of the draft later this month.
That’s unexpected for a number of reasons. First, the NFL has been expected to cut down the number of in-person draft attendees this season, with Jordan Schultz of FOX reporting in February that only 8-10 players will be invited.
Milroe is currently the No. 45 prospect on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board, meaning he is not expected to be taken in the first round.
ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak thinks the Alabama prospect ought to book a second night in Green Bay, anyway. In a QB-only mock draft, Solak projects Milroe will fall all the way to the third round, and that the Steelers will draft him with the 83rd overall pick.
“Milroe as a draft attendee reminds me of Malik Willis as a draft attendee,” Solak wrote. “Yes, the traits might be first-round caliber, but the play isn’t there just yet.”
Alan Saunders and Spencer Thomas contributed reporting for this story.