Third-round draft pick Jalen Milroe hopes to improve his mental processing by using a VR simulator, as did Commanders star Jayden Daniels last year.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe plans to use a virtual reality headset to practice.
The Seahawks third-round draft pick is spending his rookie season working on his fundamentals to become a better passer, including using a VR headset to go through his progressions and pocket presence. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, used VR to aid in his development last season. In the meantime, the Seahawks have expressed interest in getting the young signal-caller on the field as quickly as possible.
“My new head coach [Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald], we talked about [using a VR headset],” Milroe said in an interview with local sports news outlet
Seattle Sports. “And so from now until game one, I’m going to utilize that.”
Daniels has been a case study in using VR to develop his mental processing. According to an October report in
The Athletic, Daniels began using a VR simulator—originally developed for soccer players by German software maker Cognilize—during his time at LSU. Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury adopted the technology for his young quarterback soon after the 2024 draft. Daniels reportedly uses the highest setting possible.
“It moves faster within the VR than actual human beings,” Daniels told The Athletic. “Once you get out there, everything slows down. I know this is coming. I’ve seen this before, [and] it moved more than 20 times faster in VR.”
Besides the VR headset, Milroe has been working on his throwing mechanics. Seattle Sports reported that he has been working with former NFL quarterback turned quarterback coach Jordan Palmer. Palmer has
tutored some of the league’s premier talents, including Milroe’s Seahawks teammate Sam Darnold, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, and Bo Nix.
“The biggest thing is everything works from the ground up at the quarterback position,” Milroe told the outlet. “It’s understanding the lower-half mechanics of how I operate. Every quarterback is different, and so … it’s understanding how to distribute my body when it comes to the lower-half mechanics. That’s been a focus for us.”
“It’s all about being an efficient passer,“ he added. ”And so the more you work, the more you understand your body, you’re going to be more of an efficient passer. So that’s something that we continue to work on.”
Milroe enters a situation where he will not have to start right away. Seattle signed veteran free agent Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract, but according to
ProFootballTalk, the contract is structured so that the Seahawks could get out of the deal after just one year and $37.5 million. The team also has an option on the second year of the deal: If they pick it up, it would pay out a total of $65 million. The Seahawks also signed free agent Drew Lock, who is on his second stint with the team.
Milroe emerged as a dual-threat quarterback at Alabama. He finished his college career with 6,016 passing yards and 45 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. He added 1,577 rushing yards and 33 TDs on the ground. Thanks to his prolific rushing, blazing fast 4.4 40-yard dash, and
hands that measured just 8 3/4 inches at the Senior Bowl in February (but 9 3/8 inches at the NFL Combine), Milroe was considered a candidate for a position change, but stayed a quarterback during the draft process.
Realizing this potential, the Seahawks have plans to get Milroe on the field as soon as possible.
“We just added an explosive weapon while he develops as a quarterback,” general manager John Schneider said in a
press conference after Day 2 of the 2025 draft.
But Macdonald was quick to shut down comparisons to New Orleans Saints utility player Taysom Hill, who had similar size, speed and success as a runner coming out of college. Hill entered the league as a quarterback, but is currently listed as a tight end and has been used as a running back, receiver, fullback, special teamer, and passer in his time in New Orleans.
“Taysom is such a great player, and the way they used him was more of, like, in a tight end-fullback hybrid role, sometimes taking snaps,” he said. “Jalen’s a quarterback through and through. He’s going to be trained to play quarterback for us, and when he’s in there, he’s going to be playing quarterback, but the athleticism is going to come to life when he’s on the field, and that’s how he’s going to help us.”
