THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seahawks made right choice with Milroe — if I did say so myself

Well. 

This is going to be a little bit difficult. 

I need to show some humility — and mean it. 

Some background: This is a job that requires sharing an opinion, because you think the public NEEDS to know it. 

One time several years ago, a group of friends were discussing (and debating) various sports-related topics. 

I started to blurt out a passionate explanation on some issue, and said, “In my humble opinion … ” 

Suddenly, a good pal interrupted me. 

“You’ve never HAD a humble opinion,” he said. 

Probably right. 

But. 

Today, I’ve got to approach things differently. 

See, I wrote a column before the NFL draft that turned out to be spectacularly correct. 

I have bundles of emails here containing congratulations, and instead of beating my chest, I just need to say thank you.

Honestly. 

Yes, it was the column was about Jalen Milroe. 

I believed that the Seahawks should do everything possible to get their hands on the Alabama quarterback, work on his passing mechanics, and then build the entire franchise around him. 

At the time I wrote that treatise, hardly anyone was connecting Milroe to Seattle. 

THE HAWKS had recently traded to install Sam Darnold as QB1, and bringing a kid on board who would need to re-take a Passing 101 class seemed like a crazy exercise. 

Coaches and general managers rarely take on a plan that might not bear fruit for two or three years. 

Two things changed that equation in Seattle, though, and nobody seemed to notice. 

First, GM John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald aren’t just taking their paychecks and watching seasons whiz past them. 

These guys want to reach the Super Bowl. 

Soon. 

Whatever it takes, they’ll fight for it. 

What’s more, I was positive that they understood the nature of the league, where you absolutely MUST have a dynamic quarterback if you hope to join the top tier of teams. 

The second item to consider is that pocket passers are slowly being phased out of the NFL. 

Edge rushers and blitzers who ran a 4.3 at the combine are getting to QBs faster than anyone dreamed possible. 

Good teams are seeing this, and they’ve begun beefing up their offensive lines — and finding athletic quarterbacks who can get the hell out of Dodge when needed. 

These throwers who can run put a cold fear into defensive coordinators. 

Macdonald watched Lamar Jackson terrorize teams when both were in Baltimore, and he’d rather have a do-it-all quarterback on HIS side, thank you very much. 

SO, I wrote that column. 

It was a plea to the Seahawks: Get Jalen Milroe, who will be among the top running QB in the league the instant he steps on the field. 

Yes, his passing to the outside has been spotty because — as the scouts put it — he needs to connect his feet with his eyes. 

Interestingly, Milroe (who has a cannon arm) is deadly accurate on throws down the middle of the field. 

And whenever he gets loose, he’s a legit threat to run wild.  

Milroe rushed for 20 (that’s two-zero) touchdowns last season at Alabama. 

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he can bounce off a safety, too. 

(Deep breath!) 

My overall point was that the Hawks needed a special quarterback to rejoin the Super Bowl race, and that the answer was waiting for them in the draft. 

Since the Seahawks actually did snag Milroe, there have several million words used to describe how that pick was so clever. 

Milroe attended the team’s rookie camp last weekend, and it seems like everyone loves him. 

Writers and podcasters around western Washington are gushing over this prodigy, and reporters for the Seattle Times are pondering how (and how fast) the Hawks can get Jalen on the field. 

Former NFL quarterback and current radio host Brock Huard was slightly skeptical of Milroe until he saw him in person. 

Now, even the passing issue doesn’t seem like a huge problem.  

“The positive is that he has a short, quick release stroke,” Huard said Monday. 

“The nice thing is from just muscle memory, the upper body delivery is clean. It is really, really clean.” 

OK, then. 

Can Milroe take the Seahawks to the Promised Land? 

If he does, I promise to stay humble. 

Or maybe not. 

Email: [email protected] 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”