Roll Tide to Steel City? “The ball comes off his hand real smooth. He’s not just running to guys—he’s running through them,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer grins, dissecting Jalen Milroe’s Pro Day like a chef praising a perfectly seared steak. Picture this: Milroe, the 22-year-old dual-threat dynamo, clocks a 4.37-second 40-yard dash—faster than a Waffle House hash brown order. While Mike Tomlin watches, his signature aviator hiding a poker face. The Pittsburgh Steelers, caught between a fading legend and a crimson-clad comet, are drafting a quarterback saga juicier than The Sopranos finale.
DeBoer isn’t just selling Milroe; he’s auctioning a Ferrari in a minivan lot. “Accuracy at all levels. Under-center poise. And legs that turn third-and-long into third-and-gone,” he raves, channeling his inner Wolf of Wall Street. Asked what he’s been telling NFL evaluators, DeBoer said, “I think it’s, it’s, continues to be more of the same. Ball comes off his hand really well… he threw with good accuracy again. You can throw to all levels of the field,” doubling down on Milroe’s versatility.
“The running piece speaks for itself.” @AlabamaFTBL HC Kalen DeBoer discusses the speed and run ability of QB prospect Jalen Milroe. pic.twitter.com/5N8R7QcsjB
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 24, 2025
And while Milroe’s 4.37 speed stole headlines, DeBoer quipped, “The running piece, I think, speaks for itself because there’s so much that he’s shown on film over the last couple of years,” insisting it was already a known factor.
Milroe’s résumé? A 2024 SEC Championship MVP, 20 rushing TDs (tied for NCAA QB record), and that iconic fourth-and-31 “Gravedigger” touchdown against Auburn—a play so clutch, it’s now etched in Iron Bowl lore like Bear Bryant’s houndstooth. But here’s the kicker: Milroe’s mind. “Before anyone had an opinion of me, I had my purpose,” he once mused, sounding more like Yoda than a 22-year-old.
That unshakable mentality is what NFL teams are probing, and DeBoer has the receipts. “When you’re the quarterback, it’s on another level here at Alabama. You know, he’s had the highs and the lows, and he’s had to stay the course and just continue to push through… His personality just never wavers… The new challenges that come his way, he embraces it.” DeBoer’s words present Milroe as the best option to fill in the missing pieces on the Steelers board.
Enter Mike Tomlin, the NFL’s Zen master of “next man up.” After a Tuscaloosa dinner with Milroe—where the conversation likely involved more film study than fried pickles—the Steelers’ interest shifted from “curiosity” to “crush.” Why? Pittsburgh’s QB room smells like a retirement home: 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers waffling like a TikTok trend, and Russell Wilson’s magic fading faster than a dollar-store tattoo.
Milroe? He’s a 6’2”, 220-pound Swiss Army knife with a chip on his shoulder and a “LANK” (Let All Naysayers Know) merch line. Translation: He’s Pittsburgh in cleats—gritty, blue-collar, and allergic to excuses.
Tomlin’s clock ticking on Rodgers’ limbo
Meanwhile, in Steelers HQ, the vibe’s like The Office’s Michael Scott waiting for a DM reply: awkward and borderline desperate. Rodgers’ free agency tour? A soap opera where everyone’s tired of the plot. “He’s got till April 21 to decide,” whispers a source, referencing Pittsburgh’s soft deadline—a date as arbitrary as NFL taunting rules.
Why the rush? Installing Rodgers’s playbook requires more meetings than a Game of Thrones war council. “His hand signals alone need a Rosetta Stone,” jokes one scout.
Rodgers’s stats? Legendary (62,952 yards, 503 TDs, 4 MVPs), but his recent vibe? As reliable as a weather app. The New York Jets divorce left him floating in QB purgatory, while the Steelers—armed with cap space thinner than a rookie’s patience—need answers. “Either you wanna be a Steeler or you don’t,” growls Cam Heyward, echoing the Yinzer mantra. Translation: Put up or shut down the Primanti’s sandwich.
Of course, in today’s NFL, a dual-threat QB always draws comparisons. With Jalen Hurts fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, Milroe’s name is inevitably being linked. But DeBoer is cautious. “I’m really careful because, you know, I know what I saw on film and remembered. I actually played Jalen Hurts when I was at Fresno State in 2017. But I want to be really careful on the comparables.” Instead, he lets others decide how Milroe translates: “A quarterback that, you know, uses their legs and is mobile in that way.”
Tomlin’s playing 4D chess. If Rodgers signs, it’s a one-year rental with a No Country for Old Men twist. If not? Milroe becomes the heir to a throne once warmed by Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger—a kid who’d rather “slay Goliath” than trip on pebbles.
Either way, the Steelers’ 2025 draft isn’t just picks; it’s poetry. And in Pittsburgh, where Terrible Towels wave like battle flags, the next verse better rhyme with Lombardi.
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