In the NFL Draft of 2024, the Patriots couldn’t settle selecting just one quarterback.
After selecting UNC star Drake Maye at No. 3 overall two days earlier, New England grabbed a second quarterback on Saturday, spending a sixth-round pick (No. 193) on rocket-armed Tennessee signal-caller Joe Milton III.
Milton’s arm is undoubtedly his greatest asset. During his tenure with the Volunteers, he demonstrated his exceptional passing ability by launching magnificent, high-arcing throws all around collegiate fields. However, the return on investment for a quarterback playing in the same offense that saw Hendon Hooker throw for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2022 was not as great as most would have predicted.
Despite this, Milton finished 2023 with 2,813 yards and 20 touchdowns through 64.7 percent of his passes. Milton’s standout first-half performance came in a late-October game against Alabama, when he threw two touchdowns to help the Volunteers take a 20-7 lead before ultimately losing to the Crimson Tide. In the end, Milton and the Volunteers had an 8-4 record. Tennessee then sent Milton to the NFL in the hopes that a team would be drawn to his enormous arm, which he proudly displayed during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.
That team turned out to be the Patriots, whose selection immediately brought back flashbacks of the club’s 2012 Washington Draft, when the organization took Kirk Cousins with the 102nd choice and selected Robert Griffin III second overall.
The Patriots aren’t shying from the reality that quarterback remains the most important position in sports, so adding a couple of young passers to the roster doesn’t hurt. However, given New England’s inability to find a reliable replacement after Tom Brady left, Milton may not see the same opportunity Cousins enjoyed in Washington back then. Instead, he’ll join New England as a backup entrenched behind Maye, whom the team selected after turning down trade offers, doubling down on their conviction in the North Carolina product.
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