The Seahawks didn’t draft Jalen Milroe in the third round of April’s draft for him to spend his rookie season developing on the sidelines.
Instead, they’re planning to install a package of offensive plays featuring Milroe, likely designed around his athleticism and abilities as a ballcarrier.
Head coach Mike Macdonald said on Monday (via Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune) that the offense will “have plays in game plans for [Milroe],” adding that he would practice those packages with the first-team. In the preseason, Milroe racked up 87 rushing yards on just 15 carries (5.8 yards per attempt) on both designed runs and scrambles, but only completed 56.4% of his passes with a pedestrian 6.5 yards per attempt, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Free agent signing Sam Darnold is still Seattle’s unquestioned starting quarterback, but the Seahawks clearly want to get Milroe involved as a rookie, both for his short-term impact and his long-term development.
Macdonald’s comments may add to the perception that the Seahawks don’t see Darnold as a long-term starter. They did notify him of their decision to draft Milroe, but the year-to-year structure of his contract suggests that Milroe could be a serious candidate to take over the starting job in the next few years.
Of course, Darnold could always establish himself as the future of the franchise with a strong debut season. Milroe, an exciting but flawed prospect, is no guarantee to succeed at the NFL level as a full-time starter, either. His athletic upside is certainly tantalizing to Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, so the team will find a way to get him on the field this year as they evaluate their future at quarterback.
As a Raider fan I had hoped they nabbed this guy. I think he’s in a great situation and being brought along slowly but effectively. He might be a problem.