RENTON, Wash. -- John Schneider likes to acknowledge the members of his personnel department any chance he gets. So when the Seattle Seahawks drafted Jalen Milroe with the 92nd pick Friday night, he gave a shoutout to both the team's southwest area scout and its director of college scouting, who had both spent extensive time studying the Alabama quarterback.
But the jocular general manager couldn't help but work in a joke.
"We give Ryan Florence and Aaron Hineline a ton of credit," he said. "Those guys did a ton of work on him. It's really hard on those guys to be able to see 22 miles an hour, whatever he ran on the field. But no, he's an incredible athlete. Very, very fast."
Indeed, anyone can see that Milroe has exceptional speed. Seattle also saw enough complementary qualities in both the player and the person to take a flier on Milroe despite the strides he'll have to make as a passer to become an NFL starter.
That makes this a different situation than when the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson in 2012, despite some parallels between the two. Because while both were mobile third-round picks that followed free agent signings at quarterback, Milroe isn't coming to Seattle to immediately push Sam Darnold for the starting job the way Wilson beat out Matt Flynn 13 years ago.
But even if he doesn't even overtake Drew Lock for the primary backup job, Milroe should see the field early on in packages designed to take advantage of his gifted running ability.
"He's a unique, special athlete, special young man," Schneider said. "We're going to develop him as a quarterback. But with that, he can add something special as we go."
The Seahawks did not have to draft a quarterback, with four already on their depth chart before they traded Sam Howell to the Minnesota Vikings on Day 3. They may have taken one -- for only the third time in Schneider's 16 years as their GM -- in part because players they were targeting to fill actual needs vanished in front of them as pick No. 92 approached. And they may have never considered Milroe a strong fit if they hadn't tabbed Klint Kubiak to replace Ryan Grubb as their offensive coordinator.
"You've got to look at it through the lens of the things we talked about when we first hired Klint," coach Mike Macdonald said. "One of the reasons we hired him was his ability to incorporate the whole roster and really bring out what everybody does really well. Adding Jalen is a part of that."
Kubiak coached Taysom Hill last season with the New Orleans Saints, a connection that led to predraft speculation that Milroe could give him a similar threat. But the two are only comparable to a point, because while Hill was used as a hybrid tight end/H-back in addition to taking direct snaps, Macdonald made it clear that Milroe will play quarterback and quarterback only.
It may only be for a small handful of plays a game, with Macdonald saying that Darnold will take over 90% of the snaps.
"However Jalen ... earns the right to go out there, then we'll do that, if it's going to help the team, if it's best for us to move the ball and give these defensive coordinators some headaches," Macdonald said. "I'm really happy it's not going to be us."
During his two years as Alabama's starter, a span in which he went 21-6, Milroe rushed for 1,765 yards excluding the 67 sacks he took. According to ESPN Research, that ranked fourth among FBS quarterbacks, while his 20 rushing touchdowns last year were the most by a Crimson Tide quarterback in program history. He scored 32 rushing touchdowns over the '23 and '24 seasons.
"Jalen Milroe is going to change a program," former Alabama guard Tyler Booker told reporters after he was drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. "He's going to change a franchise with the energy that he brings. But obviously with his talent on the field, Jalen can make something out of nothing, and he's done it time and time again. I know you guys see that stat of mine that says I didn't let up a sack in the past two years. If Jalen wasn't as good of an athlete, that would look a little bit different."
The 6-foot-2, 217-pound Milroe reportedly ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash at Alabama's pro day.
"Quarterbacks that extend the play are incredibly difficult to defend," said Macdonald, who saw that firsthand with Lamar Jackson during his time on John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens staff. "The worst feeling in the world is you play the first part of the play perfectly on defense, and you defend it and you're like, 'All right, sweet. We did it.' Then the guy still has the ball. And then you've got to defend the next play, sometimes a third play. He can kill you in the first play, he can kill you in the second play, and he can kill you in the third play. It's not a fun existence to live consistently. He has that ability."
Macdonald's time with the Ravens may have also helped inform his belief in Milroe's chances of developing into more than a dangerous running threat in the NFL. Jackson has two NFL MVP awards and a career completion rate of 64.9% on his résumé despite entering the league with questions about his passing ability.
According to ESPN Research, Milroe's QBR dropped from 85 to 13 while under pressure last season, and he completed only 48% of his passes in the red zone. Of his 11 interceptions, 10 came on throws less than 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Milroe's deep-ball accuracy was much better. His 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions on throws at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage last season was the second-best ratio in the FBS, trailing only first overall pick Cam Ward (12-0).
Over two seasons as a starter, Milroe completed 65% of his attempts for 5,678 yards, 39 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Lions CB Terrion Arnold cannot contain his excitement after former Alabama teammate Jalen Milroe is drafted by the Seahawks.
No one with the Seahawks downplayed the need for Milroe to develop his game. As Schneider put it, he gives them an "explosive weapon" in the meantime.
"There's nothing I can't do on the football field," Milroe said. "The things I can improve on, absolutely. But there's nothing I can't do on the football field. I've thrown every type of touchdown, stepped up in the pocket, thrown on the run, I've gone through my progressions, I've thrown a checkdown and that scored, I've used my legs. So when looking at it, you pick and choose what you want on the field, I can do it. I say that humbly, not overarrogant. It's just knowing what I bring to the table."
The son of military parents, Milroe was last season's winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy, an award given to college football's premier student-athlete, considered the academic version of the Heisman. Macdonald said Milroe's determination was among the qualities that stood out when the Seahawks brought him to team headquarters for a predraft visit.
"This guy is a tireless worker, highly respected by his teammates, highly intelligent," Macdonald said. "He's just really determined to become a great player and a great quarterback."
ESPN's Todd Archer contributed to this story.