'An athletic freak': Joe Milton III has been 'mesmerizing' in Patriots training camp
Joe Milton III may not be much of a factor in the battle for the starting quarterback during New England Patriots training camp. But that doesn’t mean the rookie’s big arm — and big build — isn’t turning heads.
The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin wrote last week that it is Milton that is the “wow” quarterback at Patriots camp, not fellow rookie and first-round pick Drake Maye.
“Through four weeks of spring practice and two days of training camp,” Volin wrote, “(Milton) has been mesmerizing.”
Volin 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.”
‘Milton, not Maye, is the quarterback that you can’t take your eyes off’
Volin reported two impressive passes from Milton during one camp practice last week. The first going from the left hash to the right flat, without Milton being able to step into the throw. The other was into a tight window to rookie tight end Jaheim Bell.
“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.”
The quarterback depth chart in New England also includes Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe, with Brissett and Maye battling for the starting job.
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Joe Milton at Tennessee: 4,159 pass yards, 32 TDs, 5 INTs
Milton started his collegiate career at Michigan, then transferred to Tennessee in 2021. He threw for 1,194 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions in 14 games at Michigan. He had 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and five interceptions in 29 games at Tennessee.
Milton finished his Tennessee career with 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions last season.
He played six years of college football and was a former four-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle. He was ranked as the No. 17 quarterback nationally in his class and was the No. 42 overall player in the state of Florida at Olympia High School in Orlando.
Milton was the No. 193 overall pick, selected by the Patriots on Day 3 of the NFL Draft in Detroit in April. Maye was selected in the first round at No. 3 overall.
“I feel like everywhere you go,” Milton said in May, “no matter what quarterback got selected in this draft, no matter where you go, you’re going to have to compete. Nothing’s just given to you, no matter who you are. So no matter where you go, you’re just going have to compete. So that’s what I’m looking forward to do.”
