Analyst sends NFL Draft warning to teams about QB Jalen Milroe

The Cleveland Browns are among the teams expected to consider selecting Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe during the 2025 NFL Draft. This is partly because Milroe had current Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees as his OC for the 2023 college season. 

During a recent appearance on "The Paul Finebaum Show," former NFL player/executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick warned clubs about acquiring Milroe this spring. 

"It’s been proven that guys can improve on accuracy and improve upon repeatable mechanics," Riddick said about Milroe, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand shared. "...Josh Allen is really the poster boy for that. Anthony Richardson is going through it right now. Jalen Milroe is basically in the same boat. So if you’re someone, or if you’re a football team that doesn’t have patience and doesn’t have a good developmental program, do not draft him. Do not do that to the young man. He needs time. He’s supremely gifted. He has shown that in flashes. But he has a lot of work ahead of him."

Some made similar comments about New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye as recently as this past summer before he largely impressed analysts and other onlookers as a rookie starter. That said, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard admitted in December that he now wishes his club wouldn't have played Richardson as a rookie during the 2023 campaign. 

Richardson struggled to stay healthy over his first two seasons and finished the 2024 campaign with a woeful 47.7% completion percentage. The Colts plan to have him compete for the starting job this coming summer, and it's believed they could even trade the 22-year-old before or during the 2025 season. 

Cleveland will look to land a proven bridge option at quarterback, such as Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons, in March before those running the Browns have to decide whether making either Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Miami's Cam Ward the draft's No. 2 overall pick is the right move for the organization's future. Riddick sounds convinced that the Browns or any other team that takes a flier on Milroe had better be prepared to develop him as an unused backup through at least January 2026.