Few positions receive more scrutiny in Seattle than quarterback, and that made Jalen Milroe one of the most fascinating rookies on the Seattle Seahawks’ roster in 2025.
Milroe also joined an exclusive group. Since taking over personnel decisions, John Schneider has been remarkably selective when drafting quarterbacks. After landing Russell Wilson in 2012, Seattle didn’t spend another draft pick at the position until selecting Alex McGough in the 7th round of 2018, before finally adding Milroe in the 2025 NFL Draft. That rarity alone made the selection noteworthy.
Unlike previous quarterback investments, however, Milroe arrived without any expectation of contributing immediately. The Seahawks had already committed to Sam Darnold as their starter, while Drew Lock provided an experienced backup. Regardless of how the season ultimately unfolded, Milroe entered perhaps the ideal developmental environment for a quarterback with significant physical gifts but equally significant refinement ahead of him.
That context mattered because opinions on Milroe entering the draft varied dramatically. Some evaluators believed his athletic profile and arm talent justified Day 1 consideration as a high-upside project. Others questioned whether his inconsistencies as a passer made him anything more than a Day 3 prospect. Seattle ultimately bet on the upside, viewing Milroe as a developmental quarterback rather than someone expected to compete for immediate playing time.
The Seahawks approached his rookie season accordingly. Rather than accelerating his development through live snaps, the priority appeared to be allowing him to rebuild parts of his game without the pressure of competing for the starting job. His rookie season, therefore, was never going to be judged by statistics. It would be judged by signs of growth.
The challenge is that there simply wasn’t much regular-season tape to evaluate.
What stood out on Jalen Milroe’s tape
Seattle searched for ways to utilize his athleticism
Despite entering the year as the third quarterback, the coaching staff clearly wanted to explore ways of incorporating Milroe’s athletic ability into the offense.
Seattle installed a handful of packages featuring two-quarterback looks, designed quarterback runs, and concepts intended to leverage the explosive rushing ability that made Milroe such an intriguing prospect coming out of Alabama.
The sample size remained extremely small, making it difficult to determine how expansive those packages might have become over the course of the season.
It’s reasonable to believe the coaching staff envisioned eventually expanding that package beyond simple quarterback runs. Bootlegs, play-action concepts and movement throws could have created opportunities to stress defenses horizontally while simplifying Milroe’s reads. His combination of speed and arm strength naturally lends itself to those designs, particularly if he is attacking short and intermediate windows while threatening defenses as a runner.
Unfortunately, the offense never reached that point.
The opportunities disappeared almost immediately
Milroe’s rookie season effectively changed course following an early-season fumble on a pitch attempt (with Sam Darnold on motion) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After that mistake, his offensive role virtually disappeared.
Rather than remaining part of a developing situational package, he became little more than the emergency third quarterback for the remainder of the season. Even in comfortable victories where additional snaps might have been available, Seattle turned to Drew Lock instead of giving Milroe valuable game experience.
That leaves evaluators with remarkably little NFL tape from which to draw meaningful conclusions. Instead of evaluating sustained offensive growth, we’re left analyzing isolated preseason snaps and a handful of regular-season packages.
Areas for improvement
The developmental questions surrounding Milroe entering the draft remain largely the same today—not because he failed to answer them, but because he just didn’t play enough football.
His throwing mechanics still require refinement, particularly in maintaining consistency throughout his delivery. Accuracy, especially on routine throws, has also been an area where greater consistency is needed.
Decision-making remains another developmental priority. At Alabama, there were moments where processing speed and post-snap recognition lagged behind his physical tools. Nothing from his limited rookie action significantly changed that evaluation.
Fortunately for Seattle, none of these concerns were unexpected.
Milroe was drafted precisely because the organization believed those traits could improve over time. His elite athletic profile was always the foundation of the investment, while the passing game was expected to develop through coaching and repetition rather than immediate production.
The problem is that meaningful repetition was difficult to find during his rookie season.
Future outlook
That reality makes the upcoming preseason arguably more important for Milroe than for anyone else on Seattle’s roster.
The goal shouldn’t be to determine whether he suddenly looks like a future franchise quarterback. That would be an unrealistic expectation after one developmental season.
Instead, the evaluation should focus on progress.
Has the footwork become cleaner?
Is the throwing motion more repeatable?
Are decisions arriving more quickly?
Is the ball consistently arriving where it’s supposed to?
Those are the questions that matter.
Even though preseason football comes against backups—and often alongside backup offensive units—it still provides a valuable comparison point against Milroe’s own rookie preseason. The standard isn’t perfection; it’s visible improvement.
His place on the depth chart is unlikely to change entering 2026. Sam Darnold remains the starter, while Drew Lock continues to provide veteran insurance. Milroe is still firmly QB3, and that’s perfectly consistent with the original developmental plan.
History also reminds us that quarterback development is rarely linear. Malik Willis serves as a recent example of a physically gifted quarterback whose career looked stalled before eventually finding a better developmental environment and rebuilding his value. That doesn’t mean Milroe will follow the same trajectory, but it illustrates why patience remains part of the process with athletic quarterback projects.
Final thoughts
Jalen Milroe’s rookie season ultimately provided fewer answers than anyone hoped—not because the talent disappeared, but because the opportunities did.
The physical traits that convinced Seattle to draft him remain evident. The developmental concerns that made him such a polarizing prospect also remain largely unresolved.
That’s why 2026, and particularly this preseason, represents such an important checkpoint.
The Seahawks don’t need Milroe to become a different player overnight. They need the tape to show that the quarterback they drafted a year ago is becoming a more polished version of himself.
If that progress is visible, the long-term project remains very much on schedule. If it isn’t, the questions surrounding his NFL future will only become more difficult to ignore.