Steelers’ buzzy Russell Wilson replacement showing frustrating signs already

The Pittsburgh Steelers had early success at the quarterback position with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields each leading teams to wins and into a playoff spot. But the final stretch of the season was a disaster, with the team going 0-5, which included a Wild Card Round loss to the rival Baltimore Ravens.

This offseason, both Wilson and Fields are set to be free agents. The Steelers could opt to bring one of those signal callers back, or could bring in other options. There is always the NFL Draft, but this year's quarterback class is much weaker than 2024's, as there are more developmental prospects than Day 1 starters.

One name that has been linked to the Steelers is Alabama's Jalen Milroe. 93.7 The Fan's Andrew Fillipponi reported that Steelers scouts "love" Milroe and believe he's a first-round talent.

Milroe isn't a lock to go in the first-round, but a strong Senior Bowl could help raise his stock from a likely Day 2 pick. Thus far, the results have been mixed, with a notable poor practices in the first two days.

Steelers potential draft pick Jalen Milroe has mixed results at Senior Bowl

Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema noted that Milroe, much like his time playing for Alabama, struggled with accuracy and ball placement during the first day of practice on Tuesday.

"Milroe’s lack of accuracy and ball placement was much the same as what we saw over the last two seasons (and his smaller hand measurements from this week give us more context as to why that might be something he could always struggle with)," writes Sikkema.

The Ringer NFL Draft expert Todd McShay shared those sentiments, saying that Milroe is really struggling on short-to-intermediate throws.

“He’s not accurate short to intermediate,” McShay said, h/t AL.com “He’s missing and he’s missing by sizable amounts and it’s concerning. I just feel like it’s going fast for him. And a lot of quarterbacks come here and it’s happening fast, and I think he’s getting frustrated at times.”

Milroe did show some promise on Thursday, as evidenced by his touchdown pass to TCU wide receiver Jack Bech.

Milroe showed during his two years playing at Alabama that he is an incredible athlete. Specifically, his ability to run is very Lamar Jackson-esque, as he is nearly impossible to stop with his speed once he picks up momentum. However, it's his passing that is the concern at Alabama.

In 2024, Milroe threw for 2,834 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions on a 63.3 completion percentage. In regards to accuracy on short passes, Milroe did complete 87-of-115 throws for 836 yards and four touchdowns between zero to nine yards, but he threw five interceptions, per Pro Football Focus. While his intermediate passes numbers were solid in 2024, they were concerning in 2023, where he threw for 603 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions while completing 34-of-65 passes.

The inconsistency was evident this past season. He showed up big time for the biggest games on Alabama's schedule, notably against Georgia. But, Milroe struggled a lot in the winnable games for the Crimson Tide, with his showings against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma standing out.

Milroe is not really a quarterback who can start right away, but he does have tremendous upside for his athleticism. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers are sold on Milroe and if they have enough conviction to draft him after the Senior Bowl.