Jalen

Milroe

Cross will be missed. The Rams’ 39.6 percent quarterback pressure rate is the seventh-best in the NFL. Bobo will be replaced by WR Dareke Young (quad), who also contributes as a returner. He was activated from injured reserve today. Both the Rams and Seahawks are 11-3, though the Rams have already secured a playoff spot. The Seahawks can take control of the NFC West with a victory this evening.

No surprises here as Seattle didn’t have anyone listed as questionable for this game. Milroe remains behind Drew Lock for backup duties.

Macdonald said, “we’re going to have plays for Jalen in game plans and he’s going to rep those with the 1s.” It seems the Seahawks have a plan to use Milroe offensively despite Sam Darnold still being the starter. We can expect to see the 22-year-old rookie have a package of plays, likely in the run game, for the Seahawks to utilize his rushing skillset. For fantasy purposes, this won’t make Milroe fantasy-relevant, but might take high-value rushing touches away from Kenneth Walker in the backfield.

“Instead,” Dugar writes, “he’s being brought along as a legitimate dropback passer, just like Darnold and Lock.” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald praised Milroe’s advancement in the dropback game, saying his eyes are “in the right spot, more consistently. He could probably go into detail. It just seems to me like it’s a quicker delivery. The footwork is starting to match the routes and the concepts.” This is a good update for Milroe’s future, but his fantasy viability will take a knock if Seattle isn’t willing to use him as a designed runner.

As reported by The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Duggar, Milroe played behind both Sam Darnold and Drew Lock and “didn’t have many plays that stood out” during the week. The team’s decision to play him with the third-string shouldn’t come as a surprise, as there’s a good chance Milroe, who was considered an unpolished passer upon entering the draft, could redshirt in his rookie season as he looks to learn behind two vets. While he could usurp Drew Lock on the depth chart with a strong training camp, fantasy managers shouldn’t expect much out of Milroe as a rookie outside of the occasional gadget play.

Kubiak served as the 49ers’ passing game coordinator during the 2023 NFL season. Although Milroe is studying the overlapping “reads and play calls,” he also remains focused on improving his footwork, which is becoming a running theme this offseason. Earlier this month, ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that Milroe has been working on his “lower-half mechanics” with private QB coach Jordan Palmer. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler critiqued Milroe, pre-draft, for his “disjointed mechanics” that “disrupt the rhythm” of his dropbacks. Milroe knows he must improve in this regard if he wants to compete for the starting role in 2026. Milroe notes that Purdy “understands his feet are tied into the read and pocket integrity,” and Purdy is “at his best” and “most efficient” when he plays on time. Hopefully, Milroe can effectively put these conclusions to use in preseason play later this summer.

“Milroe is a quarterback, Macdonald said, and will be used accordingly,” The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar said. That doesn’t mean the Seahawks won’t find some way to get the ultra-athletic Milroe onto the field in some high-leverage circumstances, perhaps in short yardage or goal line situations. If Milroe and Darnold rotate snaps in 2025, neither will have much in the way of fantasy value. Seattle is fully expected to be among the NFL’s most run-heavy units under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Palmer has been helping Milroe improve his “lower-half mechanics” by specifically focusing on Milroe’s weight distribution during the passing motion follow-through. Milroe is an electric athlete who must refine his passing mechanics and processing if he wants to earn and retain a starting job in the NFL. He’s hired the right person to achieve this end. Palmer famously worked with quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Sam Darnold previously.

“One of the reasons we hired [Klint Kubiak] was his ability to incorporate the whole roster and really bring out what everybody does really well. Adding Jalen [Milroe] is a part of that,” Macdonald added. That’s a pretty revealing quote, and while we blurbed Macdonald talking about how Jalen Milroe isn’t an option in a Taysom Hill role, it sounds like Milroe will at least have some package of run-play installs. If those plays come near the goal line, it’s possible that Darnold will suffer reduced fantasy viability in superflex leagues this year. With the Seahawks not married to Darnold by contract in 2026, there’s already some inherent benching risks to consider as well. Darnold should still open the year as the starter, but he probably needs to perform well to stay on it all season.

Macdonald’s comments come on the heels of him being asked if Milroe could be used in a “Taysom Hill role.” The second-year coach said Milroe is “going to be trained to play quarterback” and added that Milroe will be playing quarterback when he is on the field. Milroe is a hyper-athletic but raw prospect at the quarterback position and is expected to need a year or two of grooming to improve his decision-making and abilities as a passer. It would not be at all surprising if we saw him in some select packages this upcoming season, but it sounds like the team will not be using him in the hybrid role we’ve grown accustomed to seeing for Hill.