Patriots Rookie Already a Draft-Day Steal After Spectacular Preseason Debut

After producing several highlight reel plays in his preseason debut on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, it is hard not to understand the buzz behind Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton.

Milton, a sixth-round pick by the Patriots in April's draft, turned heads both through the air and on the ground on Thursday. On a second-down play late in the third quarter, Milton eluded several Panthers defenders, retreating nearly 20 yards into his own backfield before scrambling to pick up a 12-yard gain. The rookie's backyard football play earned a rousing ovation from the crowd at Gillette Stadium.

Patriots Rookie QB Joe Milton Shines in Preseason Debut

Later on, in the fourth quarter, Milton found JaQuae Jackson down the left side of the field for a 38-yard touchdown.

Now, overreacting to preseason performances is an August football tradition unlike any other. 2017 Jacoby Brissett and 2023 Malik Cunningham walked so that 2024 Joe Milton could run, and Milton's highlight-reel ability is custom made to stir up hype from Patriots fans. The Tennessee product has earned the nickname "Bazooka Joe" with his insane arm strength and his backflips after launching a football 80 yards in the air have drawn oohhs and aahhs from fans at New England's training camp,

The numbers back up Milton Mania as well, as he emerged as the highest-graded rookie in preseason Week 1, receiving a 86.9 grade from Pro Football Focus, ahead of first-round talents such as Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy.

Milton completed 4 of his 6 for 54 yards and a touchdown while adding 22 yards on the ground. Jacoby Brissett and third overall pick Drake Maye played only one series, while Bailey Zappe took the majority of reps under center.

Sensing the excitement around Milton's performance in the team's opener, Jerod Mayo attempted to tone down some of the hype on Sunday:

"Yeah, you know, just watching Joe run around and that athleticism is always a welcome sight. In saying that, there are still things for him to work on. One thing would be ball security. I know it looked cool, but it's always a dangerous thing, swinging the ball around like that, but this is a guy who is working hard every single day and getting better."

- Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo

Milton was the ninth quarterback selected in April's draft, selected in the sixth round. It would be incredibly irresponsible to draw comparisons, but it is hard not to note that another legendary Patriots quarterback was drafted in the sixth round.

Milton was drafted with the pick that New England acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for former QB Mac Jones.

After Maye's limited involvement on Thursday and Milton's performance, the sixth-rounder has somewhat overshadowed the team's third overall pick. The team appears to be taking their time with developing Maye, who many insiders predicted would need to sit at least a season to get up to NFL speed.

Maye's delayed development isn't cause to release him (as one Boston sports radio caller suggested), but it does leave a door open for Milton that otherwise might not have been there. The elongated runway for Maye is why veteran Jacoby Brissett is here, and the overwhelming consensus about Maye coming into the draft was that he was a "project" and would need a significant amount of fine-tuning. This was the plan with Maye. There is no reason to sound the alarm.

There are several reasons why Milton could have the edge in the here and now. Milton is three years older than Maye and spent six seasons at the collegiate level, whereas Maye only spent three. Two former NFL quarterbacks coached Milton in college - Jim Harbaugh and Josh Heupel, while there were questions about how NFL-ready Maye was getting under UNC's offensive coaching staff.

It is nearly impossible to predict how Milton fits into the Patriots' future plans with Brissett as the assumed starter and Maye waiting in the wing. For the time being though, it sure feels like a steal for New England in the sixth round.

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