Seahawks QB depth chart: What Jalen Milroe NFL draft selection means for Sam Darnold

Jalen Milroe became the fifth quarterback taken in the 2025 NFL Draft on Friday night. The Seattle Seahawks took the former Alabama quarterback with the 92nd overall pick in the third round. 

Milroe is expected to learn from new starter Sam Darnold, who signed with the Seahawks last month after Geno Smith headed to Las Vegas. Although Milroe likely won't start right away in Seattle, the last time the Seahawks took a quarterback in the third round was with Russell Wilson in 2012. 

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Let's take a look at Seattle's quarterback depth chart with the addition of Milroe. 

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Seattle quarterback depth chart 

1. Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold arrives in Seattle, coming off the best season of his career in Minnesota. Following three disastrous seasons with the New York Jets and another two bad ones in Carolina, Darnold was largely considered a bust of a former No. 1 overall pick. But he rebuilt his reputation with one season in Minnesota.  

Thanks to a preseason injury to then-rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Darnold took the reins of the Vikings offense. He led Minnesota to a 5-0 start, and the Vikings went on to finish 14-3 in the regular season. He finished throwing for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. 

His great season was a bit tarnished due to his poor performance in the wild card round against the Rams, which featured an interception and nine sacks. But still, Darnold proved he can run an offense at a high level if given the opportunity in the right scheme. He is Seattle's franchise quarterback, as things stand right now. 

2. Drew Lock 

Drew Lock had a couple of stints with the Seahawks. In 2022, he competed alongside Smith for the starting job. Smith won the job, and Lock didn't see the field for the entire season. In March of 2023, Lock re-signed with the Seahawks and came in largely when Smith got injured during the season. He finished with 48 completions for 543 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions. 

He did have success as a backup with the Giants last year, as New York signed him last March. Although the Giants finished 3-14, Lock played decently, throwing for 1,071 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He added another 133 yards rushing with two scores. His familiarity with Seattle might put him slightly above Milroe to start.  

MORE: Tracking every Seahawks pick in 2025 NFL Draft

3. Jalen Milroe 

Jalen Milroe is one of the few quarterbacks in his class who didn't transfer to a different school during his career. Over his last two seasons with the Tide, he threw for 5,678 yards with 39 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He rushed for another 1,257 yards and 32 touchdowns on the ground.

Although he could use some pro development as a passer, he is a fast and physical runner who shows some impressive speed for a guy who is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds. In fact, he ran between 4.44 and 4.51 during his 40-yard dash at his pro day.  

As we noted earlier, the last time the Seahawks took a quarterback in the third round was with Wilson back in 2012. There's no question that Seattle sees Milroe as a potential franchise quarterback of the future. As for right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Macdonald draws up some run packages for Milroe as a rookie in 2025. Especially considering how not much of a dual quarterback Darnold is. 

MORE: Full list of QBs taken before Shedeur Sanders

4. Sam Howell, Jaren Hall 

Seattle will likely have to move on from one of these two guys this season. Both of them came in for an injured Geno Smith last season, and neither really showed much.

Both of them played in three games for Seattle, with Howell finishing with five completions for 24 yards and an interception. Hall wasn't much better, getting 13 completions for 168 yards and a pick.  

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