Jalen Milroe Reportedly on Raiders' Radar, QB Could Go Late 1st Round of NFL Draft

Ahead of the 2025 NFL draft on Thursday, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is reportedly being eyed by a team that can stash him behind a veteran signal-caller for a few years.

During Sunday's episode of SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that the "Las Vegas Raiders, I know, are on Milroe's radar because they have Geno Smith." Fowler added that the Raiders "would be a team he would love to go to to slide behind Smith for a couple of years and learn."

The Raiders acquired Smith from the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason, reuniting him with head coach Pete Carroll after he replaced Antonio Pierce in Las Vegas. The team signed Smith to a two-year, $75 million contract extension that keeps him tied to the franchise through the 2027 season.

Still, Fowler described Milroe as "probably the most polarizing quarterback prospect" in this year's draft class. B/R's NFL Scouting department ranked him as the No. 5 quarterback in its draft big board. While he's a raw talent that still needs time to develop, his speed and athleticism could be too attractive for teams to pass up.

"He's looking at this as sort of an early Day 2 proposition, but he could sneak into the late first round if somebody loves him enough," Fowler said. "A lot of teams have done serious homework on him. He probably has the highest upside, if you can get around the accuracy issues."

Fowler added that Milroe has taken steps to improve his passing mechanics, so teams like the Raiders could be tempted to draft him earlier than expected.

"I've talked to his quarterback coach Jordan Palmer, he said they've been working for the last year on his fluidity, connection to the ground, which he believes will help him at the next level, that he's a very high achiever," Fowler said. "So, this is a guy where if you can stash him for a couple of years and play him, high, high upside."