NFL Analysis
9/27/24
6 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Jalen Milroe, Carson Beck Seek 1st Round Hype In SEC Showcase
The football world will descend upon Tuscaloosa this weekend for a heavyweight fight between SEC rivals and national powerhouses in Georgia and Alabama.
Between College Gameday, the television broadcast team, and NFL scouts, Bryant Denny Stadium figures to be the epicenter of football this weekend. These are, after all, two of the most talent-rich programs in the country for the upcoming NFL Draft.
The quarterback position is at the center of this matchup. Both schools boast a potential early pick at quarterback who is looking to meet the weight of expectations placed upon them.
Georgia's Carson Beck was generally considered a first-overall pick candidate throughout the summer. In contrast, Alabama's Jalen Milroe is looking to be the next success story for coach Kalen DeBoer after DeBoer's program helped to boost Michael Penix Jr. from a mid-round prospect to a top-10 overall selection across two years at Washington.
The weight of expectation is both a blessing and a curse. Both have left some questions in their respective resumes amid those expectations. Saturday night can be a big step towards changing that for either or both.
Beck's Stock Is Going Down?
This season, Beck has been a solid quarterback. However, the player with the No. 1 overall pick buzz has had two relatively modest statistical performances against FBS competition, including the particularly gritty and unsexy win against the Kentucky Wildcats two weeks ago.
"Solid" isn't necessarily an excellent foundation for the resume of a No. 1 overall or top-10 pick, though. And as Beck played winning but unspectacular football, the nation watched as Milroe and Miami's Cameron Ward posted video game numbers. At the same time, Shedeur Sanders at Colorado and Garrett Nussmeier at LSU have orchestrated big comeback wins while collecting big numbers, too.
Beck (seven) trails both Texas quarterbacks in total touchdowns this season, as Quinn Ewers (eight) has shown signs of growth despite injury, and sophomore phenom Arch Manning (nine) has played well in support.
It all feels too quiet for Beck, given where expectations were in July. To be fair to the Georgia quarterback, he's only been asked to throw the ball 82 times this season, which is one attempt short of leaving him with exactly half the passing workload as Shedeur Sanders this season.
Beck has the physical goods. He's got great size in the pocket, a strong arm, and sees the field well. Perhaps the best thing about his win against Kentucky was that he made a few big throws late to help ice the game and did so while taking a lot of nasty hits within the pocket.
Still, his resume for the year has yet to provide that moment for his supporters to point to and say, "Aha! See?" A big win on the road in Tuscaloosa, or even a big performance in a loss, could reignite a draft stock that feels a little flat compared to the competition.
Milroe Has A lot to Prove
Meanwhile, Milroe has been dynamic for the Tide. He's put up 14 total touchdowns, which is tied for fourth among FBS passers. Milroe's successes this season haven't necessarily been high volume through the air — he's logged two rushing touchdowns in each of the Tide's first three games.
His dual-threat ability is well-established. However, most NFL scouts are eager to see and learn more about his passing growth, given that is where his most significant question marks were coming into the season. He's had just 52 passing attempts through the season's first three games, even more paltry numbers than Beck.
A jarring amount of his workload through the first three games has come within five yards of the line of scrimmage or beyond 30 air yards downfield. He has more 30+ air-yard attempts (10) than he does between 10 and 20 air yards (seven) thus far this season.
Milroe has always been able to throw the leather off the ball. And the haymakers are a sight to behold — just ask Wisconsin. A test against Georgia could force Milroe to take his targets elsewhere.
The Bulldogs' defense has yielded just one completion beyond 20 air yards downfield on 10 attempts through their first three games.
Who gives? Is it Milroe? Or does he, courtesy of his gifted arm and ability to extend plays, find ways to uniquely stress the Bulldog defense in ways that Clemson and Kentucky could not?
Making NFL Draft History
Saturday night's contest between the two teams will be a massive stage for many talented players to make a statement.
These two quarterbacks will be a part of that mix while also looking to mutually progress towards something that hasn't ever been done in the NFL Draft's history — having a Georgia and Alabama quarterback in the same draft picked within the first 100 (or earlier) selections.
For their rightful reputations as NFL factories and all the national prowess in the college landscape, these two schools have not had top quarterbacks overlap in a draft cycle.
Alabama has enjoyed a recent run on first-round quarterbacks via Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young. Still, the rest of their modern-era quarterback draft history is modest at best. Other top-100 picks in Alabama's history as a quarterback include Brodie Croyle (85th overall in 2006) and Richard Todd (6th overall in 1976).
Meanwhile, Georgia hasn't had a 1st-round quarterback since Matthew Stafford in 2009 and has only had three other quarterbacks drafted in the top-100 during the modern era.
- David Greene, 85th overall in 2005
- Quincy Carter, 53rd overall in 2001
- Eric Zeier, 84th overall in 1995
We aren't guaranteed to finally get the joint representation of Alabama and Georgia quarterbacks in the top 100 this year, either — Milroe is a redshirt junior who will have an eligibility decision to make at the end of the season. After all, Year 2 for the aforementioned Penix Jr. alongside DeBoer helped him leap into a whole new stratosphere as a prospect.
But Saturday's game will be a big plot on the chart for both quarterbacks and their trajectories for next April. Just as you'd expect, the whole football world will be watching. Closely.
