Seahawks insider details Seattle's plan for Jalen Milroe in first season

One of the knocks on Seattle Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe going into the 2025 NFL draft was the fact that he needed a lot of development as a passer.

However, there was no question about his athleticism, which is the definition of elite. Milroe was an absolute menace with his legs at Alabama, and that should be no different in the pros.

Thanks to that athleticism, Milroe should see the field "right away," according to ESPN's Brady Henderson, but don't expect him to be QB1 or QB2 anytime soon.

When he could get on the field: Right away -- in a specialty role. Milroe needs to make improvements as a passer, so he won't challenge Darnold as QB1 and might not even beat out Drew Lock as QB2. But Seattle envisions Milroe playing a few snaps per game in packages that will take advantage of his running ability. The Seahawks can then use the 2025 season to assess his development and decide next offseason whether to proceed with him or Darnold, whose contract gives the Seahawks a potential out after one year. -- Brady Henderson

Seahawks general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald have both more than hinted that Milroe could get a package of plays in his first campaign to add another element to Seattle's offense.

However, the ultimate goal is to develop him as a quarterback and not just some gadget player.

"He's a unique, special athlete, special young man," Schneider said. "We're going to develop him as a quarterback. But with that, he can add something special as we go."

"You've got to look at it through the lens of the things we talked about when we first hired Klint," Macdonald added. "One of the reasons we hired him was his ability to incorporate the whole roster and really bring out what everybody does really well. Adding Jalen is a part of that."

With both Sam Darnold and Drew Lock ahead of him, Milroe will likely serve as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart. That will leave the Seahawks with a difficult decision.

Do they dress Milroe on a weekly basis when he's only going to see a few plays? Or do they use that spot to carry an extra player they might need?

We'll see how all that shakes out, but for now, it looks like we won't have to wait long to see the explosive Milroe.