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# Could Klint Kubiak Deploy Jalen Milroe as Seahawks Version of Taysom Hill?
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/could-kubiak-use-jalen-milroe-seahawks-version-taysom-hill/
- Published: 2025-04-28T19:17:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:48:31.000Z
- Author: Nick Lee
- Tags: Seahawks, NFL Draft, Jalen Milroe, Taysom Hill

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe entered the 2025 NFL Draft with several question marks. Serious concerns about his throwing accuracy and decision making were voiced by scouts, while draft pundits critiqued his lack of pocket presence among other pressing issues.

So, when the Seahawks selected him 92nd overall in the third round on Friday night, many wondered what their intentions were with Milroe. Sam Darnold now is entrenched as the franchise’s starting quarterback on a three-year contract and the team recently signed Drew Lock to be his backup, making the incoming rookie’s possible fit a difficult one.

Indeed, Milroe will need some serious seasoning and coaching before he may be ready to handle a starting job in the league. While he develops and marinates in an NFL system, how can new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and the Seahawks use his skillset in the short-term? 

Prior to joining Mike Macdonald’s staff, Kubiak’s previous job was offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. For the last seven seasons in New Orleans, they have used a gadget quarterback with elite athletic traits with concerns about his throwing skills. Taysom Hill has carved out a solid NFL career with the Saints without being their franchise quarterback. This came after playing strictly quarterback for BYU for five seasons between 2012 and 2016\. He has over 2,400 rushing yards, 900 receiving yards, and 44 total touchdowns in his NFL career, with just nine starts at quarterback to his name.

In that 2024 campaign with Kubiak as the play caller, Hill was having perhaps his best season yet at age 34\. In packages Kubiak devised, he averaged a career-high 7.1 yards per carry and had six rushing touchdowns in just eight games. Unfortunately, his season was cut short by an ACL injury, the latest in a long line of knee injuries he has suffered dating back to college. Still, Kubiak seemed to know how to get the best out of his unique skill set.

Looking at his newest dual threat project, Milroe is one of the most purely athletic quarterbacks to come out of not just this draft class, but the last five or six, and he used that athleticism to rush for 20 touchdowns in 2024\. With his limitations in the pocket as a decision maker and questioned accuracy, at least, for the moment, could Kubiak cook up a similar Taysom Hill-style gameplan for his latest weapon with him as the third quarterback on the roster?

At Alabama’s Pro Day, Milroe ran a blazing 4.39 40-yard dash. Out of BYU, Hill ran a 4.44\. Hill stands 6-2, 220 pounds and Milroe is nearly identical at 6-2, 217 pounds. He is built like an armored truck with a rare physique for a quarterback and his ability to extend plays creates nightmares for defenses, something that Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald experienced first hand coaching against Lamar Jackson in practice when he was defensive coordinator for the Ravens.

“Quarterbacks that extend the play are incredibly difficult to defend,” Macdonald explained. “The worst feeling in the world is you play the first play of the play perfectly on defense, you defend it. ‘All right, sweet. We did it.’ Then the guy still has the ball. You’ve got to defend the next play, sometimes a third play. He can kill you in the first play, the second play, the third play. It's not a fun existence to live consistently. He has that ability.”

In 2024, Kubiak had Hill line up as the quarterback for 26 snaps. He spent 65 snaps in the backfield, 43 as an inline blocker, and 63 snaps as a slot receiver. He averaged over 10 yards per carry when running the ball outside each tackle spot. For most of his NFL career, he has made an impact on special teams as well, including blocking punts. 

While it’s unlikely - if not improbable, as general manager John Schneider seemed to point out on Friday - that the Seahawks want Milroe to play special teams trying to block kicks or be an in-line tight end, there are ways they could take advantage of his physical skills with the ball in his hands. Given his build and running skills, the Seahawks could use him in goal line situations. Sam Darnold isn’t known for his rushing prowess. If the Seahawks want to give the defense a different look, they could put in the Alabama product to run some wildcat packages. 

Not only does Milroe have the physical build to handle carrying the ball in tight, goal line situations, but he also has the speed to break away in the open field and rip off [explosive runs](https://twitter.com/JimNagy%5FSooners/status/1856105355933299184?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com). Coupled with the talented group of running backs the Seahawks have and hopefully an improved offensive line, he could play a significant role in revitalizing the running game in short spurts.

Milroe himself seems like a very self-aware person, and listening to him speak in his introductory conference call on Friday, it’s clear that he understands coming in that he may need to start off as a package player while developing at the quarterback position behind the scenes, learning everything he can from Darnold and Lock.

“I want bring nothing but positive vibes to the offense,” Milroe said. “Fulfilling all that is a necessity with my role on the team. Of course, once I get there, I’ll understand my niche for sure. But ideally, I’m competing. No matter what day it is, no matter how many reps I get, I’m competing for when an opportunity presents itself at the quarterback position.”

Obviously, Milroe is not going to get 20-plus snaps per game. Kubiak and company will need to pick their spots and find his “niche” in the offense early on. While Milroe is likely at least one - maybe more - season away from competing for the starting job, the Seahawks can use his physical talents immediately in the ground game. 

Even outside of Taysom Hill, this isn’t a new concept around the league.

In 2020, the Eagles used Jalen Hurts in several running situations, despite having Carson Wentz as the starting quarterback. Hurts accumulated 65 rush attempts in 15 games while making just four starts his rookie season. 

The Seahawks need to use similar creativity to be effective in the run game in 2025\. They shouldn’t just let Milroe sit on the sidelines with a baseball cap on for the entire season, given all the physical tools he possesses and his rushing talents. Even if he isn’t going to be a multi-position Swiss army knife, Kubiak and company should deploy him in strategic ways like he did in New Orleans with Hill, giving him some run as a situational asset while looking towards the future with him possibly being under center down the line.