There were points at the beginning and during the middle of last season that Alabama star quarterback Jalen Milroe projected as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and as a high first-round pick.
A few poor performances and a handful of losses shut down a good deal of that talk, but whispers of Milroe coming off the board early are beginning to grow louder as April nears.
Part of the reason is that QB-needy teams have fallen out of the top two spots, which could leave them on the outside looking in as Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders get drafted.
One such organization is the Las Vegas Raiders who will pick No. 6 overall and must find a viable player to replace non-viable options in Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O'Connell.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.
© Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report predicted on Friday, Jan. 17, that the Raiders will select Milroe in the first round, though not with the 6th pick. Instead, Moton expects Las Vegas to trade back into the first and take him a bit later in the round.
"During the draft, the Raiders can make a splashy move for a quarterback who wouldn't cost them multiple first-round picks," Moton wrote. "After making their first pick at No. 6, they could trade back into the first round for Jalen Milroe, much like the Baltimore Ravens did to draft Lamar Jackson in 2018."
Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department recently gave Milroe a mid-second-round grade (No. 42 overall), though teams in need of a signal-caller have traditionally been willing to take one a bit earlier in the proceedings than common draft grades suggest.
