"Mel Kiper Predicts Jalen Milroe as the Next Lamar Jackson: Potential First-Round QB Prospect"

NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. recently shocked everyone by stating that Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe will be a big prospect in the 2024 NFL draft and might make comparisons to Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson. Kiper says Milroe should get into the top 10 of the 2024 draft and serve as the first quarterback drafted overall.


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Jalen Milroe: Next Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson has been a special flavour since landing in the NFL back in 2018, ushering in a whole new era for the quarterback position due to his dual-threat abilities. Explosive runner, and an explosive passer, and his on-field success established a new benchmark for mobile quarterbacks. However, Kiper still views Milroe as a possible duplication of the Alabama QB's end through his ability to "slip and slide in the pocket" and break off when needed.

Kiper emphasized Milroe’s similarity to Jackson’s playstyle, saying:

"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. You see Lamar Jackson out there doing the exact same thing. I watched him with the Baltimore Ravens just toying with defenders. ... Jalen Milroe slips and slides in the pocket. When he needs to run, he does."

Milroe's College Career at Alabama

Milroe is entering his fourth season with Alabama, during which time he's shown some flashes. Unlike most of the current crop of transfer students, Milroe has stayed an Alabama man for his entire collegiate career. In 2023 and again in this fall, Milroe has thrown 33 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions in 17 games.


But what separates Milroe is his ability to run from the trenches. In that same span, he's averaged **20 touchdowns** via the ground game, but also added eight over his last four games for another kind of thrust and dynamic.

Milroe vs. Lamar Jackson College Production

Although the comparison by Kiper to Jackson may be interesting, there is still much work to be done if Milroe wishes to match Jackson's college production. Jackson's final two seasons at Louisville were flat-out spectacular. He threw for **57 touchdowns** and ran for almost **3,200 yards** with **39 touchdowns on the ground** in three years of college ball.


On the flip side of that, Milroe has run only about **700 yards** this season so far and hence, there is a slightly wide difference between his running time and scores of that of Jackson in college. Nevertheless, Milroe has the potential of closing that gap with a great finish of 2024 season.


In other words, will Milroe eventually draw many eyes at the end of the NFL season, mainly when the lights shift to the draft in February? If Milroe continues to show his dual-threat nature, the tag with Jackson will only intensify, which makes him one of the quarterbacks in demand in the 2024 draft class.


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