Joe Milton’s path to the NFL has been anything but conventional. After six years in college, split between Michigan and Tennessee, Milton flashed elite arm talent but struggled with consistency. His breakout at Tennessee and an impressive NFL Combine performance led the New England Patriots to take a flyer on him in the sixth round of the draft.
Despite being drafted as a backup behind third-overall pick Drake Maye, Milton quickly turned heads in training camp and the preseason with his raw physical tools. When given a chance to start in Week 18, he delivered a stellar performance that had fans and analysts buzzing about his potential. Now, with the Patriots reportedly open to trading him, the question looms: Does Milton have what it takes to develop into a legitimate NFL starter?
Joe Milton’s Unexpected College Journey
Joe Milton was in college for six seasons playing for both Michigan and Tennessee. During his time in Michigan, he never took control of the starting job in three seasons finishing with 1077 passing yards and 4 touchdowns in 6 games his junior season. He then decided to transfer to Tennessee where he saw a breakout during his redshirt senior season where he threw for 10 touchdown passes on 82 attempts. After that season, Milton took over as the starter and didn’t look back throwing for 2813 yards and 20 touchdowns making himself an intriguing prospect in the draft.
Career College Stats
5353 Passing Yards
37 Passing Touchdowns
11 Interceptions
661 Rushing Yards
12 Rushing Touchdowns
The production in his senior season created a buzz around Milton’s name heading into the combine, but the combine secured him a spot on many teams’ draft boards last season. Milton was one of the stars of the Combine’s throwing session. He showcased Josh Allen-like arm strength in the downfield passing drills and uncorked a few passes of more than 70 yards. He also added the top throwing velocity of the day while showcasing his accuracy in the other drills. With Milton standing at 6’5, the talent popped off the charts leading him to being picked in the sixth round by the New England Patriots.
Milton Turns Heads in the Preseason
The Patriots also decided to draft Drake Maye third overall in the draft signaling that Joe Milton’s chances were going to be limited throughout his career in New England. That did not stop him from turning heads in the preseason with reports from Boston claiming that Milton was outplaying Maye.
“I wrote after last Thursday’s practice that Milton is the “wow” quarterback at camp— the guy with the best size, best athleticism, and biggest arm. Now I’ll take it a step further: Milton outplayed Maye over the first six practices of camp. You can’t tell which player is the No. 3 overall pick (Maye) and which is the sixth-round flier (Milton),” Ben Volin wrote for the Boston Globe.
Milton’s talents shined early on in camp but it was his inconsistency in college that prevented him from going higher in the draft. The inconsistency showed in the preseason as Milton’s first game started with fireworks going 4/6 for 54 yards and a touchdown before finishing 5/17 for 78 yards to close the preseason. The inconsistencies did not stop fans on social media from talking about the rookie quarterback’s elite tools much
The Hype Train Has Taken Off
With the Patriots out of playoff contention, they opted to start the rookie quarterback in place of Drake Maye in a meaningless game. Joe Milton built on his success before the season by shredding the Bills defense completing 75.9% of his passes for 241 yards and a touchdown while also adding another touchdown on the ground. His performance during Week 18 earned him a 95.8 PFF grade which was one of the highest grades of the season given to any player. With Drake Maye being locked in as the team’s starter, social media started buzzing about a potential trade in the offseason.
When the Patriots signed Josh Dobbs last week, speculation immediately began that the Patriots would look to trade Milton. Dobbs has a history with new head coach Mike Vrabel and will likely operate as the team’s backup quarterback leaving Milton as the odd man out. Tony Grossi, a longtime Cleveland Browns beat reporter, mentioned that the Patriots asking price is a third-round pick for the second-year quarterback.
What’s Next for Milton?
If the Patriots can strike gold and sell off Joe Milton for a third-round pick capitalizing off of his success in week 18, they would have flipped a 6th round pick into a third-round pick. While some teams are desperate for a young quarterback, Milton has only played one game in his career and has been plagued by inconsistencies throughout his career. A pick in the 4th round makes more sense for teams looking to add Milton and below are my favorite landing spots for the second-year quarterback.
Potential Landing Spots
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- New York Giants
- New Orleans Saints
- Los Angeles Rams
All of these teams above have question marks regarding the quarterback situation in the near future trading for an upside player like Joe Milton makes sense. The Rams are a team I look at and think makes the most sense. Matthew Stafford recently signed a two-year extension with the team but is also 37 years old and at the end of his career. Sean McVay has been able to get the most out of quarterbacks during their stops in Los Angeles and allowing him to get his hands on a talented player like Milton would be a good fit for both sides.
I think the Rams will wind up trading for Milton for a late 4th round pick in the upcoming draft. The Patriots will be happy to get a solid return on a previous sixth-round pick while the Rams give Sean McVay a talented quarterback to develop. Expect the Joe Milton trade rumors to pick up more steam as we get closer to the draft and teams miss out on their potential quarterbacks of the future in April.