Why Seahawks rookie QB Jalen Milroe is channeling his inner Brock Purdy

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

Growing up in Texas, Milroe looked to Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson as quarterbacks he tried to emulate. But to learn the Seattle Seahawks offense, the rookie QB told FOX Sports he has been watching one of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s star pupils during his time with the San Francisco 49ers.

Kubiak served as San Francisco’s passing game coordinator when Brock Purdy led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in his second season. The former “Mr. Irrelevant” recently signed a five-year, $265 million contract extension with the Niners.

Milroe sees Purdy as someone he can emulate as he transitions to the NFL.

“What’s unique about Brock is he played in the same system that I’m in right now,” Milroe told FOX Sports. “So, it’s been great to see the tape and see some of our reads and play calls and watching him play.

“He understands his feet are tied into the read and pocket integrity. When he plays on time, that’s when he’s at his best and he’s been most efficient. That’s what I’ve been able to capture as I’ve studied his game.”

Selected in the third round of the 2025 draft, Milroe is just the third quarterback Seahawks GM John Schneider has taken during his 16-year tenure in Seattle. The others were Russell Wilson (third round, 2012) and Alex McGough (seventh round, 2018).

When Schneider selected Wilson, then-coach Pete Carroll immediately placed him in a three-man competition for the starting quarterback job with high-dollar free agent Matt Flynn and incumbent Tarvaris Jackson. In Wilson, Schneider and Carroll saw a gamer who could do everything at a high level but was not rated a top QB prospect because of his 5-foot-11 frame.

In Milroe, Schneider is banking on another prospect with elite athleticism who needs to develop more efficiency as a passer. Before the draft, some NFL evaluators described Milroe as a lottery ticket because of his off-the-chart athleticism.

Now it’s up to Seattle to help the former Alabama star reach his full potential.

“He’s in a unique category with this group of quarterbacks because he’s like that explosive athlete, with the speed,” Schneider said after the draft. “I saw him play live at Wisconsin. It’s like, great player, but a poor decision, and he just scored from 60 yards or something.

“He just takes off and he’s gone. This is a natural runner with the ball, [and that] puts so much pressure on defenses.”

For the past two offseasons, Milroe has worked with private quarterbacks coach Jordan Palmer in Southern California to help refine his throwing mechanics.

“For me, it’s all about being efficient as a passer as much as possible,” Milroe told FOX Sports. “And understanding it works from the ground up. So, understanding how our body functions and understanding what allows us to perform at a high level. That’s important when it comes to the biomechanics and how we operate.”

Palmer said that even more than Milroe’s considerable physical tools, it’s who he is as a person and what he brings to a team’s culture that makes him special. That’s important for Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald as they attempt to recreate the championship culture Carroll developed when he first arrived in Seattle.

“As unique as his physical traits are in terms of his explosiveness, top-end speed, arm talent and just how dynamic he is, I actually think the traits that are most unique are on the personality side of things,” Palmer told Seattle Sports Radio. “He’s like a magnet. He’s incredibly likable, but he comes from this military background where it’s not even about discipline. It’s so much about finishing what you started, doing what you said you were going to do and accountability.

“And those are the things in today’s day and age, when you got young players making money in high school and college, that I don’t see as often.”

Milroe’s father, Quentin Milroe, is a retired Marine, and his mother, Lola Milroe, is a retired medical worker for the Navy. Both attended the NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles recently and watched as their son’s No. 6 jersey was officially unveiled.

“They emphasized discipline, commitment, effort and pride,” Milroe said about his parents. “Being detailed oriented. Having short-term goals and long-term goals. That all impacted me and are built-in traits for how I structure my life, with playing quarterback and also being a great human on and off the field. That is something I emphasize each and every day as I embark on the journey I’m on.”

On the practice field, Milroe enters offseason work as Seattle’s No. 3 quarterback behind starter Sam Darnold and experienced backup Drew Lock. With no pressure to take over as the team’s starter as a rookie, Milroe will be given ample time to develop in his first year. The Seahawks could be tempted to get the dynamic Milroe on the field in packaged plays, like some of the ways Kubiak used Taysom Hill in New Orleans.

Milroe’s superpower is his ability to make things happen with his feet. He finished his career at Alabama with 1,577 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns. He had 12 rushing touchdowns of 10-plus yards in his final season, the most by a quarterback in the past 25 years. At his pro day, Milroe ran a 4.40-second 40-yard time, which would have been the fastest of any quarterback at this year’s combine.

“If it’s going to help the team, and for us to move the ball, give these defensive coordinators some headaches — which I’m really happy it’s not going to be us — that’s awesome,” Macdonald said about incorporating Milroe into the offense. “But I don’t want to put a timetable on it.”

For Milroe, the focus this offseason is to improve on his craft as a quarterback and learn the offense as quickly as possible.

“The best thing you can do is learn from everyone in the room,” Milroe said. “What I mean by that is you have a quarterback coach, you have an OC, you have players. You have so much knowledge in the room, and knowledge is power. The more knowledge you have and coaching at the position, the better you play.”

Of course, Milroe is also learning from someone not in the Seahawks’ building, a quarterback who plays 800 miles down the coast.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.

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