Alabama football quarterback Jalen Milroe entered the Senior Bowl attached with a late first round label. Now, Milroe has one edge over Heisman Trophy finalist Dillon Gabriel.
Milroe delivered an uncanny 75.4 miles per hour throw during Wednesday's practice in Mobile, Alabama. That emerged as a faster velocity compared to the 2024 Ducks star.
Jalen Milroe reportedly “bounced back” today at the Senior Bowl after struggling mightily in the first practice.
Milroe reportedly hit a ball speed today of 75.4 MPH, which was even faster than Dillon Gabriel’s speed yesterday.
For reference, that’s more than 13 MPH faster than… pic.twitter.com/23x7kS2Owt
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) January 30, 2025
Milroe is turning to the prestigious bowl game to boost his draft stock. The Crimson Tide quarterback is coming off an up-and-down 2024 season without Nick Saban as his head coach. Milroe watched his touchdown passes dip under Kalen DeBoer. However, Milroe delivered career-highs in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, completions and passing yards.
Many draft projections, though, don't list Milroe as a first rounder during the week of Jan. 27. Bucky Brooks of the NFL Network dropped his latest mock draft Wednesday, which doesn't have Milroe landing between one or 32. But Milroe's Senior Bowl practices and Saturday game are capable of changing his draft stock.
Is Dillon Gabriel garnering high NFL attention?

Gabriel is another polarizing QB for this upcoming draft class. He's heading to the league carrying a smallish 6-foot, 200-pound stature. And he's best known for landing at Central Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon. However, Gabriel dazzled the Senior Bowl by throwing 74.9 mph. That toss came before Milroe beat him out the following day.
He gained one fan in ESPN NFL Draft analyst Field Yates in December — saying how the QB “has some damn good tape this year.” Yates' narrative for Gabriel, however, slightly changed Tuesday.
“This guy has got a lightning-quick release and he’s just a nifty athlete overall,” Yates said on ESPN. “Some of the big questions for Dillon are going to be does he have the elite arm strength down the field? What is it like playing for him under center, which, by the way, is like a foreign thing for all quarterbacks at the collegiate level.”
Still, Yates called Gabriel “pro ready” and believes he can land somewhere late in day two of the draft (third round). Bleacher Report's Dame Parson handed Gabriel a fourth round grade while calling him a “potential role player.” Although Parson believes Gabriel is a more athletic version of Tua Tagovailoa.
Milroe, meanwhile, pulled off one major move ahead of April 25. The Alabama QB signed with Klutch Sports Group. Klutch Sports has former Alabama star QB Jalen Hurts and 2020 Crimson Tide Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. Now he'll aim to land high in the draft just like both.