The New England Patriots weren't content to just spend the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on a quarterback, following up their first-round pick of Drake Maye with a sixth-round selection of Joe Milton III. This week, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf explained the decision, which Milton apparently made easy.
"It was just one of those picks where there was too much talent in him to pass that up," Wolf told "The Adam Schefter Podcast," per MassLive. "I had the opportunity to watch Joe play live, the last game of the year against Vanderbilt. I got there really early and watched him warm up. Just watching him throw the football is unbelievable. ... He's 6-5, 245 pounds. He's got a rocket for an arm. He's athletic. He played in [Tennessee head coach Josh] Heupel's offense there. It's not an NFL offense, but we feel like there's some things that we can ... develop."
In other words, it's not so different from any other low-risk, high-reward swing at the back end of the draft. It just so happened that the Patriots had already addressed the position by using their first pick on Maye, the vaunted North Carolina product. Milton may or may not have a guaranteed spot on the final 2024 roster, with veteran Jacoby Brissett and third-year reserve Bailey Zappe also under contract entering spring workouts. Brissett is all but locked into a top job as the prospective Week 1 starter and/or veteran No. 2.
