Mel Kiper Drops Eye-Opening Claim on Jalen Milroe's NFL Draft Status

Entering Saturday's mammoth showdown between Alabama and Georgia, the debate around Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe centered on whether he could be a first-round pick.

Speaking on the draft podcast, " First Draft ," ESPN draft gurus Field Yates and Mel Kiper both agreed that a strong showing aaginst the Bulldogs could help vault Milroe out of the second round. Well, all Milroe did was lead Alabama to an upset, going 27-for-33 passing for 374 yards and two touchdowns, adding 117 yards and two touchdowns rushing.

Milroe now has 18 rushing and passing touchdowns in four games, and has thrown just one interception.

Not only was Kiper ready to declare him a first-round pick, he now has Milroe as the top quarterback in the 2025 draft--or, at least, with an argument for the spot.

"Vying for QB1 in this draft is what he’s doing," Kiper said Tuesday on the ESPN show Get Up. "You think about where Shedeur Sanders is from Colorado off a really good game, really good performance. Think about Cam Ward from Miami, Fla. Think about Carson Beck, think about Quinn Ewers coming off that injury at Texas. Jalen Milroe you could argue right now is QB1, I still have Shedeur Sanders there, I am going to debate that."

Milroe showed his talent against Georgia, but what impressed Kiper was the progress he has made with the little things that make great quarterbacks--his poise and control of the huddle.

"You see the progression," Kiper said. "He has always been a great deep-ball thrower, great deep-ball accuracy. The progression has been short, intermediate, precise passing, accurate passing there. Operations, the details, the presnap, he is getting better at that.

"Jalen Milroe to me right now is in the mix to be, certainly, QB1 and be a Top 10 pick overall and maybe even higher than that by the time we get to late April."

Related: Jalen Milroe Predicted to Have Huge Stock Jump With Alabama-Georgia Showing