From electric in the season opener to erratic during last weekend’s loss to Texas, Jalen Milroe has operated on both sides of the spectrum during his two starts this season.

After winning Alabama’s starting quarterback job out of camp, the redshirt sophomore built up some early momentum against an overmatched Middle Tennessee State defense, completing 13 of 18 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. His stock has since taken a hit as he completed 14 of 27 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns with a pair of costly interceptions against Texas.

Alabama players have backed Milroe, praising him for his resilience late against the Longhorns while expressing confidence in his ability to improve. Several Crimson Tide fans haven’t been as patient with his progression, crucifying him for his performance during the defeat while calling for Nick Saban to make a change behind center.

So, what should we make of Milroe from the short sample size this season? Statistically, it’s been somewhat of a mixed bag.

After struggling with long throws last year, Milroe has been one of the nation’s best deep-ball passers, completing seven of his 12 throws of 20 or more yards. For perspective, No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young had 21 such completions over 12 games for Alabama last season. If Milroe keeps at his current rate, he’ll have 42 deep-ball completions over that same span.

The intermediate passing game has been a completely different story. On passes that have traveled 10-19 yards through the air, Milroe is just 2 of 7 for 56 yards with a touchdown and an interception. According to Pro Football Focus, he earned a 25.8 grade on such throws — the lowest among SEC starting quarterbacks by a large margin.

To get a better look at how Milroe has fared this season, here’s a look at where he ranks among the SEC’s 13 other starting quarterbacks. Players were ranked based on their PFF grades.

1 — K.J. Jefferson: 31 of 42 for 382 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTS (93.4 PFF grade )

2 — Jaxson Dart: 35 of 50 for 601 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT (90.1)

3 — Spencer Rattler: 55 of 68 for 698 yards, 3 TDS, 0 INT (85.2)

4 — Connor Weigman: 49 of 78 for 572 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs (83.9)

5 — Carson Beck: 44 of 62 for 580 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT (82.1)

6 — Jayden Daniels: 40 of 63 for 614 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT (80.1)

7 — Graham Mertz: 45 of 62 for 526 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT (74.8)

8 — A.J. Swann: 60 of 98 for 766 yards, 8 TDs, 3 INTs (71.1)

9 — Devin Leary: 41 of 69 for 543 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs (69.8)

10 — Payton Thorne: 19 of 31 for 235 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT (67.9)

11 — Jalen Milroe: 27 of 45 for 449 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs (67.2)

12 — Brady Cook: 30 of 39 for 374 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT (67.1)

13 — Joe Milton: 42 of 63 for 424 yards, 4 TDS, 0 INTs (66.9)

14 — Will Rogers: 33 of 46 for 387 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs (65.1)

Outlook: While 11th out of 14 will raise some eyebrows, Milroe is less than five grade points from moving to the middle of the pack. It’s also worth noting that three of the quarterbacks ahead of him on this list — Jefferson, Beck and Leary — have yet to play a Power 5 opponent.

Still, if Alabama is going to contend for an SEC title, it will need Milroe to move higher up this list by the end of the season.

1 — Jalen Milroe: 7 of 12 for 262 yards, 4 TDs 0 INT (95.3 PFF grade)

2 — K.J. Jefferson: 5 of 11 for 152 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (95.1)

3 — Jayden Daniels: 4 of 7 for 185 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (94.2)

4 — Spencer Rattler: 6 of 10 for 247 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT (93.5)

5 — Carson Beck: 3 of 6 for 89 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (92.4)

6 — A.J. Swann: 7 of 18 for 223 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT (90.9)

7 — Payton Thorne: 4 of 8 for 111 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (87.9)

8 — Jaxson Dart: 6 of 10 for 180 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (86.5)

9 — Conner Weigman: 5 of 9 for 155 yards, 3 TDs 0 INT (82.6)

10 — Brady Cook: 2 of 4 for 74 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (81.7)

11 — Graham Mertz: 4 of 9 for 133 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT (71.4)

12 — Will Rogers: 2 of 5 for 48 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT (68.1)

13 — Joe Milton: 2 of 9 for 61 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (63.2)

14 — Devin Leary: 1 of 9 for 24 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (59.2)

Outlook: Heading into the offseason, few would have guessed that the deep ball would be Milroe’s biggest strength. Last season, he struggled to find his touch on long throws, going 0-for-5 with three interceptions on balls that traveled 20 or more yards through the air.

Milroe’s ability to stretch the field with his arm, should open up defenses and allow him to make plays with his elite speed. That being said, he’ll need better protection from his offensive line if he’s going to continue to pick apart opposing secondaries.

Against Texas, Milroe completed 4 of 8 deep balls for 138 yards and a touchdown. However, he was sacked five times in the process.

1 — K.J. Jefferson: 9 of 11 for 107 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT (90.8 88.5 PFF grade)

2 — Jaxson Dart: 13 of 18 for 284 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT (90.4)

3 — Spencer Rattler: 4 of 7 for 74 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (88.2)

4 — Devin Leary: 14 of 22 for 277 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT (88.1)

5 — Graham Mertz: 6 of 10 for 117 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (88.1)

6 — Conner Weigman: 13 of 26 for 200 yards, 4 TDs 2 INT (87.5)

7 — Carson Beck: 8 of 14 for 189 yards 0 TD, 0 INT (78.5)

8 — A.J. Swann: 14 of 28 for 255 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT (76.3)

9 — Jayden Daniels: 9 of 18 for 189 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT (70.0)

10 — Brady Cook: 4 of 8 for 103 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT (67.7)

11 — Joe Milton: 5 of 13 for 60 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT (63.8)

12 — Payton Thorne: 2 of 9 for 25 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (49.9)

13 — Will Rogers: 3 of 7 for 37 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INT (47.7)

14 — Jalen Milroe: 2 of 7 for 56 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (25.8)

Outlook: As was the case against Texas, Alabama won’t always be able to provide Milroe the time to sit in the pocket and wait for his receivers to get open deep. Against top defenses, the redshirt sophomore is going to have to get better about scanning the field and getting through his progressions faster.

Milroe did just that during his 39-yard touchdown to Amari Niblack against Texas. After dropping a low snap, he picked up off the ground in time to glance at his options and fire a strike to his open tight end in the middle of the field.

When Milroe has struggled, it has often been due to him staring down his primary read while allowing the opposing defensive backs to jump the route. If he’s able to do a better job of reading the field, he should be able to climb up this list.

1 — K.J. Jefferson: 6 of 7 for 35 yards 0 TDs, 0 INTs (88.5 PFF grade)

2 — Jaxson Dart: 10 of 14 for 80 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (75.2)

3 — Jayden Daniels: 18 of 24 for 177 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (74.7)

4 — Spencer Rattler: 31 of 34 for 280 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (74.2)

5 — Conner Weigman: 20 of 24 for 174 yards, 0 TD 0 INT (73.0)

6 — Jalen Milroe: 15 of 19 for 112 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT (69.6)

7 — Carson Beck: 16 of 21 for 163 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (68.7)

8 — Brady Cook: 14 of 16 for 104 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (68.4)

9 — Graham Mertz: 17 of 19 for 127 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT (66.9)

10 — Will Rogers: 13 of 15 for 135 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INT (63.8)

11 — Joe Milton: 12 of 17 for 103 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (63.2)

12 — Payton Thorne: 8 of 9 for 70 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (61.3)

13 — Devin Leary: 17 of 23 for 145 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs (54.8)

14 — A.J. Swann: 28 of 37 for 197 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT (50.3)

Outlook: The mistake keeping Milroe out of the top five here was his first-quarter interception against Texas when he stared down Jermaine Burton on a short out route. As stated above, that has been one of the young quarterback’s biggest flaws so far this season.

Passes behind the line of scrimmage were not included in this stat. That’s an area Alabama might look to utilize more to open up the field, especially when it's facing extreme pressure like it was against the Longhorns.

Through two games, Alabama has attempted just four passes behind the line of scrimmage. Given Alabama’s depth in the backfield, it will be interesting to see if first-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees dials up more screens to the running backs moving forward.