NFL teams at the Senior Bowl are seeing the struggles ahead in developing quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe.
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, AL …
* Why quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart are struggling in the early going.
* An independent analyst explains why patience is needed with both quarterbacks.
* An indirect admission of error from Kevin Stefanski and more indication of turning the calendar back to 2023 on offense.
1. If the Browns decide to pick from the second wave of quarterbacks in the draft – primarily Jalen Milroe of Alabama or Jaxson Dart of Mississippi – their intentions most likely will be tipped off by their selection of a veteran quarterback in free agency. Don’t forget: On the NFL calendar, free agency starts in March – six weeks ahead of the draft. The Browns will have their veteran QB signed, sealed and participating in their offseason program long before they turn in their draft card for the No. 2 pick on April 24. If they sign a veteran quarterback good enough to be their starter for the entirety of the 2025 season, it means they are willing to give Milroe or Dart the necessary ample time to adjust to the vastly different and complex offensive scheme they’ll encounter in the NFL. If they sign a veteran who’s more in the mold of a career backup, they are more likely to have their sights set on first wave of quarterbacks who can expect to play as rookies – Cam Ward of Miami or Shadeur Sanders of Colorado.
2. The best analysis of Milroe and Dart I’ve heard came from ESPN analyst and former NFL scout and personnel executive Louis Riddick in an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show.
3. Milroe’s fabulous athleticism has been blunted by erratic ball placement and throwing mechanics. Describing Milroe’s Senior Bowl practices as “uneven,” Riddick said, “The good is great” on some throws in 1-on-1 periods. But when Milroe has to call the play in the huddle in team periods “there were some moments when he was way off target and looked totally unsure of himself.” Riddick believes that Milroe’s success in the NFL depends on the organization willing to patiently develop him and the work he puts in on the NFL level. “It’s been proven that guys can improve on accuracy and improve upon repeatable mechanics,” Riddick said. “You know, Josh Allen is really the poster boy for that. Anthony Richardson is going through it right now. Jalen Milroe is basically in the same boat. So if you’re someone, or if you’re a football team that doesn’t have patience and doesn’t have a good developmental program, do not draft him. Do not do that to the young man. He needs time. He’s supremely gifted. He has shown that in flashes. But he has a lot of work ahead of him.” Riddick said Milroe could be drafted as high as the second round or as low as the fourth round.
4. Dart had problems early in the week in simply taking the snap from under center. He was almost exclusively a shotgun quarterback in Lane Kiffin’s Mississippi offense that simplified calls to stress defenses at a hyper tempo. “That’s not something you see on a regular basis in the NFL, so now it’s about getting the call from the coach, regurgitating it in the huddle, making sure you can give the players the coaching tips in this new offense that the players need to have so that everyone’s on the same page,” Riddick said. “Jaxson is talented enough to do all the things they’ll ask him to do at the NFL level and he has enough mental horsepower to be able to absorb all this information and then use it in real time. And it’s getting better and better and better. And when it’s clean, and he’s sure of what the call is, and everyone’s doing his job, you see him do the kind of things he did at Ole Miss and why he’s the all-time passing leader in Ole Miss history. He can push the ball wherever you need it to, and he can do all the things you need an NFL caliber quarterback to do. And I expect that to continue to get better as the practices continue to stack themselves.”
5. Kevin Stefanski said a lot in a brief interview on SiriusXM. “We’ve had different guys that we’ve won with, so we believe in our system, a system that’s going to adapt to our best players, and certainly you’re thinking about the quarterback position when it comes to that,” Stefanski said. What Stefanski didn’t say was he and the Browns erred when they changed the entire system to try to fit Deshaun Watson’s preferences last year. Remember when Stefanski introduced Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator last February and said Dorsey was charged with “putting this offense back together again”? All of their actions since the 2024 season ended – the firing of Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, Stefanski taking back play-calling and promoting Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator, the hiring of line coach Mike Bloomgren at the recommendation of departed wide zone guru Bill Callahan – are admissions that they were on the right track in 2023 and shouldn’t have changed. “For us right now it’s about us putting in a system in with Tommy Rees and this offensive staff and making sure it’s adaptable to whomever we have out there, whatever the spots,” Stefanski said.