Although many expected this, the New England Patriots have moved on from first-year head coach Jerod Mayo in order to take the franchise in a different direction.
What they may not have expected, however, is for rookie QB Joe Milton III to have a massive performance in his NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots drafted Milton, who is known for his rocket-like arm strength, in the sixth round with the No. 193 overall pick. After his terrific debut, Milton is drawing interest from various teams around the NFL.
NFL Teams Reaching Out to Patriots About Joe Milton III
During Sunday’s win over the Bills, Milton not only showcased his huge arm, but also his dual-threat ability, completing 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a bullet touchdown to Kayshon Boutte while adding a rushing score.
“It looks like we lucked out — we maybe have two quarterbacks,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said on Monday following Milton’s performance.
Is Kraft right? Could the Patriots have gotten a massive steal at the back end of last year’s NFL Draft?
The Patriots drafted their current starter, fellow rookie Drake Maye, with the No. 3 overall pick. Maye has outperformed expectations in his first year and has the starting job locked up, but the Patriots may have landed an extremely valuable trade asset in Milton.
Given Milton’s upside and how well he played in his first NFL action, he’s looking like a solid backup to push Maye’s development or a very valuable piece to trade in a QB-starved league.
Milton’s performance on Sunday raised eyebrows across the NFL. According to NFL personality Steve Palazzolo, the Patriots have already received calls from multiple QB-needy teams about their late-round steal. With the Patriots having holes to fill all over their lineup, perhaps they would be open to flipping Milton for the right return.
Hearing multiple QB-needy teams have inquired about Patriots QB Joe Milton
— Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo_) January 6, 2025
According to PFN’s QB+ metric, Milton earned an 80.8 (B-) grade in his debut, which ranked seventh overall among 31 qualified QBs in Week 18. This was the second-highest QB+ rating this season and the 14th-best single-game rating for the Patriots since 2019.
PFN’s QB+ metric assigns a letter grade to every quarterback performance and factors in a number of stats such as success rate when pressured, third-down conversion rate, pocket production, and clutch performance.
“Man, I feel like today was a great step in the direction for my development, my future itself, just because you never know,” Milton said. “The full length of an average career in the NFL is three years, so just try to take every rep that I get, even if it’s in practice or a game, just try to take it serious as much as I can. … Whatever I got to do, I do it.”
Patriots fans were quick to point out that New England’s brass should ask for a ton in return given Milton’s potential and how front offices value quarterbacks.
In a league filled with reactionary owners and a premium being placed on QB talent…. ask for the MotherLoad. The worst case scenario is you’ve still got him under contract.
— Stanislaw (@LeStaszu) January 6, 2025
Either way, the Patriots have found themselves in an exceptionally strong position going into the 2025 season, especially after going just 3-14 in 2024.
They own the No. 4 overall pick in next year’s draft, have what seems to be a rising star in Maye, could upgrade their head coach (if the rumors about Mike Vrabel are true), and now have an intriguing backup QB or desirable trade chip in Milton.
Are the Patriots about to enjoy a quick turnaround after what was a forgettable 2024? Only time will tell.