Following the conclusion of the 2024 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the focus for the Black and Gold shifts to the off-season, which should feature some coaching staff changes, some additions and subtractions in free agency, and plenty of buzz surrounding the 2025 NFL Draft.
Easily the biggest focus for the Steelers moving forward is the quarterback position, especially with veteran Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to hit free agency in March after their one-year stints in Pittsburgh.
Though the Steelers seemingly want to retain both quarterbacks, and both Wilson and Fields have expressed a desire to return to the Steel City, it could be tricky trying to retain both from a financial perspective.
Regardless of what happens with the two quarterbacks, the Steelers will still need to find a long-term answer at the position. For Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness, there is one prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft at the position that fits the Steelers the best under center.
That would be Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. In a piece for PFF.com, McGuinness made the case for Milroe in Pittsburgh as the best fit.
“Both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are free agents this offseason and even if they bring either of them back, they are still in the market for a quarterback to develop. Milroe’s hype has fallen some, but he earned PFF grades above 87.0 in each of the past two seasons,” McGuinness writes regarding Milroe.
Along with QB, McGuinness highlighted WR and CB and S as the Steelers’ biggest needs, but nothing outweighs QB in football today.
Many reading this won’t be thrilled to see Milroe as the best fit for the Steelers, especially considering how he finished his career at Alabama, struggling in a blowout loss to a bad Oklahoma team to knock the Crimson Tide out of the playoffs, and then struggling with ball security in the bowl game loss to Michigan in a game that the Crimson Tide were favored in.
Milroe is listed at 6-foot-2, 201 pounds and has a strong right arm and is a dynamic weapon with the football in his hands as a runner out of the backfield. He put up some impressive numbers in his career, throwing for 6,016 yards and 45 touchdowns across two full seasons as a starter. He completed 64.3% of his passes, too, but he threw 20 interceptions, including 11 this season.
On the ground, Milroe added 1,577 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns on the ground, including 726 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2024. He also finished sixth in Heisman voting in 2023.
The talent is there, but there are concerns with his accuracy, processing and ability to play on time from in the pocket that has many concerned.
However, for The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, with the NFL being a traits league, especially at QB, Milroe will be sought after and is an intriguing prospect overall.
“Milroe might be the most fascinating evaluation in the 2025 draft. Some will immediately dismiss him as a legitimate quarterback prospect because of his inconsistencies as a passer — and I get it. His lack of precision and timing were major issues at times this season, most notably in Alabama’s losses.But he is also one of the best pure athletes in this draft class,” Brugler writes of Milroe for The Athletic. “His on-field GPS numbers reflect a 4.3 40, which is even more impressive considering his size. Milroe has high-level arm strength with plenty of impressive throws on his tape, and NFL scouts speak highly about his intelligence and makeup.
“The NFL is a traits league, and Milroe has a rare package of skills that several teams will be willing to bet on somewhere in the top-50 picks.”
Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin has talked time and time again about QB mobility and how that is a game-changer, and Milroe possesses that in bunches, both when the play breaks down, and from a designed-run aspect. Milroe needs coached up and needs some development on the finer points of the QB position, but you can’t teach speed, athleticism and arm strength, and Milroe has all of that.
He will be a fascinating prospect to follow throughout the pre-draft process.