Where ESPN ranks Joe Milton in a loaded 2024 NFL Draft quarterback class
Joe Milton III will enter the 2024 NFL Draft conversation at the back end of a crowded quarterback draft class, according to ESPN NFL Draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Jordan Reid. Milton announced on December 27 that he was declaring for the draft.
Kiper has Milton ranked 10th among his top-ten quarterback prospects while Reid has him at 11th out of the 12 quarterbacks he ranked.
Ahead of Milton on Kiper’s list, in order are USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, Tulane’s Michael Pratt and Florida State’s Jordan Travis.
Reid’s ranking had Williams, Maye, Daniels, Penix, McCarthy, Nix, Rattler, Pratt, Travis and Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman ahead of Milton, respectively, with Milton ranked ahead of Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed.
Joe Milton this season: 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
Milton went out on a high note, completing 22 of 33 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns in Tennessee’s regular-season finale against Vanderbilt on November 25 at Neyland Stadium.
He ran five times for 11 yards, giving him six total touchdowns on the day.
He finished the season with 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. Last season Milton threw for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns, appearing in nine games as Tennessee’s backup quarterback, playing behind Hendon Hooker.
Milton a recruit was a four-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class out of Olympia High School in Orlando. He was ranked No. 242 overall, was the No. 17 quarterback and the No. 42 overall prospect in the state of Florida.
Top 10
- 1
The Fighting Irish
Notre Dame beats Penn State to advance to CFP National Championship
- 2
Notre Dame odds
Irish natty line released vs. OSU and Texas
- 3Hot
Carson Beck
QB entering portal
- 4
Lee Corso
Near fall puts scare into CGD crew
- 5
Ohio State fans mistake
A brutal, costly error
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
‘He’ll wow you up close with his size and arm, but we’re still waiting on it all to click’
ESPN’s Reid in his breakdown of Milton wrote that he his “arm talent stats out right away — he has the arm strength to throw the football through a brick wall.”
“But,” Reid wrote, “while Milton attempted maybe toomany fastballs in the past, I saw improved patience and better decision-making in the underneath areas this season.”
Reid quoted an AFC scout saying, “He’ll wow you up close with his size and arm, but we’re still waiting on all of it to click with him, and it just hasn’t happened consistently enough yet.”
That’s what Reid highlighted while explaining the areas Milton needs to improve.
“While Milton’s physical traits are apparent,” Reid wrote, “he still struggles with deep accuracy. He completed 28.6% of his passes of 20-plus air yards (103rd in the FBS). Touch on vertical throws remains a concern despite the arm strength. He has to learn to layer the ball to his desired spots.”
