Colin Cowherd: ‘Don’t be shocked’ if Joe Milton wins Patriots starting QB job

The Herd host Colin Cowherd introduced a spicy theory this week about rookie quarterback Joe Milton III after the former Tennessee star received some rave practice reviews. Spectators and media alike at the New England Patriots’ training camp practices have reported that Milton stands out, over his first-round counterpart Drake Maye.

That fact, along with the culture and personnel in New England, has Cowherd suggesting that it could be the sixth-round QB, not the first-rounder, that starts this season under Jerod Mayo.

“Drake Maye sounds like it’s not going well in New England,” Cowherd said on his show Thursday. “According to Michael Holley, someone I know, trust and respect, he said, ‘I went to practices, I wanted him to be Justin Herbert and Josh Allen, but what I saw, was the ghost of Mac Jones. He couldn’t do anything right.’

“There’s another story that Joe Milton, that Milton has a ‘wow’ factor,” Cowherd continued. “And everybody’s looking and thinking, is the sixth-round guy, better than the first-round guy.”

“Drake Maye at his best was a project… but when you enter a defensive culture, with a defensive coach, they have no play-makers, don’t be shocked if Joe Milton wins this job, or gets a lot of snaps this year,” he concluded.

Drake Maye is reportedly struggling at Patriots camp…

"Don't be shocked if Joe Milton wins this job." — @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/lqVoZoEyZf

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 1, 2024

Though Milton has impressed so far with a week and a half of training camp in the books, New England has no shortage of QB depth. Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe are also in the mix, with Brissett challenging Maye daily.

Joe Milton described as ‘mesmerizing’

A report Cowherd undoubtedly read from the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin last week said that it is Milton “wowing” at quarterback at Patriots camp, not Maye. 

“Through four weeks of spring practice and two days of training camp,” Volin wrote, “(Milton) has been mesmerizing.”

Volin also described Milton as “an athletic freak,” with Milton listed at 6-foot-5, 246 pounds.

“He is the one with the extraordinary arm strength, and the tight, quick release,” Volin wrote, “launching 70-yard bombs and zipping lasers to the sideline with an effortless flick of the wrist. Maye can make all the throws, but not like Milton does.”

Despite his high praise for Milton’s practice performances, Volin also specifically said he doesn’t believe the takeaway should be that the former Vol will beat out the first-round pick.

“This is not meant to start a controversy or imply that Milton is better than Maye,” Volin wrote. “There is more to playing the position than raw athletic talent (ask JaMarcus Russell, or Tom Brady for that matter). 

“Milton also sailed an easy pass into the flat, showing that he needs to learn how to throw a changeup. And you certainly wonder why a player with Milton’s athletic gifts struggled in college, then fell to the sixth round of the draft. But in these early practices, Milton, not Maye, is the quarterback that you can’t take your eyes off.”