Patriots select Tennessee QB Joe Milton III with No. 193 overall pick in 2024 NFL Draft

One quarterback wasn’t sufficient for the Patriots within the 2024 NFL Draft.

New England chosen a second quarterback, spending a sixth-round choose (No. 193) on rocket-armed Tennessee signal-caller Joe Milton III on Saturday after taking UNC star Drake Maye at No. 3 general two days earlier.

Milton’s main attribute is clearly his arm. He owns an absolute cannon, firing majestic, high-arcing passes throughout collegiate fields throughout his time with the Volunteers, however did not fairly benefit from the return most anticipated from a quarterback working in the identical offense that noticed Hendon Hooker throw for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2022.

Nonetheless, Milton accomplished 64.7 % of his passes for two,813 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2023, together with a stellar first-half efficiency during which Milton tossed two touchdowns to assist the Volunteers take a 20-7 lead over Alabama in a late-October sport earlier than ultimately falling to the Crimson Tide. Finally, Milton and the Volunteers completed 8-4, and Tennessee despatched Milton off to the NFL with the hopes a staff would fall for his large arm, which Milton fortunately confirmed off on the Lucas Oil Stadium subject in the course of the NFL Scouting Mix.

That staff ended up being the Patriots, whose choose immediately impressed reminiscences of Washington’s 2012 draft, during which the membership chosen Robert Griffin III second general, then selected Kirk Cousins with the 102nd choose in the identical draft.

Milton might not see the identical alternative Cousins loved in Washington again then. He’ll be part of New England as a backup entrenched behind Maye, whom the Patriots chosen after turning down commerce gives, doubling down on their conviction within the North Carolina product.

As a result of quarterback stays crucial place within the sport, it by no means hurts so as to add a few younger passers to the roster, particularly when contemplating New England’s incapability to discover a dependable resolution following the departure of Tom Brady. With their selection of Milton, the Patriots aren’t shying from this actuality.