In the sixth round of the draft, a quarter-century apart, the New England Patriots selected two quarterbacks who once played for the University of Michigan.
We all know who the first guy was.
Now, it's Joe Milton III who has his opportunity with the Patriots, a team still desperately looking to define its post-Tom Brady future several years after Brady became a thing of the past in Foxboro. Replacing any legend is tough, and replacing the best quarterback ever to play the game? Well, that's especially difficult. But in the handoffs from Brady to Cam Newton to Mac Jones -- and now to veteran backups Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe, rookie first-round pick Drake Maye, and Milton -- the team has failed to produce one viable long-term option at the position.
Not that Milton automatically qualifies. He's an amazing athlete with measurables for days, but through six college seasons -- three with Michigan and three more with Tennessee after Milton transferred in 2021 -- Milton hadn't quite put things far enough past the whole "Throw Far/Run Fast/Be Big" thing to a level that satisfied the NFL's talent evaluators. Which is why he was selected with the 194th pick in this draft. Quarterbacks playing in Josh Heupel's Tennessee offense tend to get debited no matter what their statistics may be, because they're playing in an offense with so many pure spread tendencies, people wonder how much of it is NFL-transferrable.
The Patriots, already having selected Maye with the third overall pick, couldn't have cared less. With no obvious quarterback to lead the franchise into the Jerod Mayo era, they doubled down with Maye's potential, and the gifts that Milton brings to the field. The rough spots and developmental issues? Hey, that's why you get a guy in the sixth round in the first place.
"Just watching him throw the football is unbelievable," Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said after the pick was made . "6-foot-5, 245 pounds, he's got a rocket for an arm, he's athletic. He played in [Josh] Heupel's offense there, which is not an NFL offense. But we feel like there are some things there that we can work with and develop.
"It was one of those picks where there was too much talent in him to pass that up,"
Fast forward to Thursday's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, and Milton's first go against an opposing NFL defense for real. The Patriots trotted all four of their quarterbacks out there, with Milton making his way to the field with 4:12 left in the third quarter.
It would not surprise anyone who studied Milton's Tennessee tape that the rookie alternated between amazing plays (both inside and outside of structure), and a couple of things he would really like back. That's always been the rub. Milton completed four of six passes for 54 yards and a touchdown in this game, adding 22 yards on the ground with two scrambles.
Let's start with the play that almost put Milton in a really bad spot -- the first play of the fourth quarter. The Patriots had first-and-10 at the Carolina 27-yard line, and Milton wanted to throw the quick out to receiver Kayshon Boutte. Milton missed Panthers cornerback D'Shawn Jamison ready to jump the route, and perhaps Jamison was startled with how easy this play was for him, but this was a hair away from a touchdown the other way. This will be a coaching point, no doubt.
The play that went viral was Milton's 38-yard touchdown pass to receiver JaQuae Jackson with 9:07 left in the game. Milton did a lot of good things here. With the Panthers switching to single-high coverage post-snap, Milton could pick a side on the mirrored out-and-up routes run by Jackson and Kawaan Baker. His play-fake froze the defense and gave Milton time to assess what he had, Jackson was not Milton's first read; Milton had to play it out through the progression.
When Milton felt pressure, he was perfectly happy to run out of it, as he did on this 12-yard scramble with 1:42 left in the third quarter. Quarterbacks, especially rookie quarterbacks, tend to play to their comfort levels, and Milton's comfort here was to elude everybody, and get downfield by any means necessary.
That touchdown pass wasn't the only time Milton showed off that big arm. This was third-and-7 from the Carolina 24-yard line with 14:20 left in the game, and Milton showed here that he doesn't need perfect body placement to make a vertical backside throw... no matter the result.
"We know he has a big arm," Jerod Mayo said of Milton after the game. "He has the athleticism. He's getting better with his reads every single day. He has natural leadership ability. But once again, it's not just about one game; it's about the full body of work. You can come out here and play well but you also have to do it on a day-to-day basis, in practice and you've got to gain the confidence of not only the coaches but also your teammates. And this was a step forward for him."
That is was, and Milton didn't seem to believe that the moment was too big for him.
"I feel like I've got a lot more work to do," Milton said postgame. "There's a lot of things in the offense that I need to learn, and I need to learn fast. Just being hard on myself, that's the only way I got this far, is being myself. Thanks to Coach Mayo for saying that, but I feel like I've got a lot of work to do, got to keep studying. Can't get complacent no matter how good the game went tonight. Just being able to wipe it off and put it in the books and get ready for the next one."
The next one comes next Thursday, when the Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles, and Joe Milton gets another opportunity to prove that he belongs in the NFL. Based on first appearances, Milton has a ways to go, but the development from his college tape is encouraging.
Related: Patriots QB Joe Milton III Issues Three-Word Personal Reminder After Dazzling In Preseason
Related: 5 NFL Offenses That Will Be Radically Different in 2024
Most Popular
Comments / 0