One of the more shocking trades this year in the NFL was for QB Joe Milton III. Milton was a 2024 sixth round pick (pick #193) from the University of Tennessee selected to the New England Patriots. Milton was selected as a rebound for 2024 10th overall draft pick, QB Drake Maye, if things didn’t go according to plan. But, things did go as planned for the Patriots. The Patriots had found their new QB1 for the future with Drake Maye.
Joe Milton III began his college football career at the University of Michigan, where he redshirted in 2018 and played in very few snaps during the 2019 CFB season. He earned his starting role during the COVID 2020 CFB season but struggled with consistency and eventually lost his starting job. Milton then transferred to the University of Tennessee in 2021, where he initially backed up QB Hendon Hooker. After Hooker’s injury in 2022, Milton started in the Orange Bowl and showed up with 250+ passing yards and 3 touchdowns. In 2023, Tennessee named him as their full-time starter. Milton showed his smart decision-making but also was criticized for inconsistent accuracy, which he is continuing to fix to this day. Despite his wild journey, he finished his college career as a top dual-threat QB with notable physical qualities.
Milton was one of the most athletic QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft. He portrayed a strong combine performance which included a whopping 4.62s 40-yard dash time as well as a very strong and accurate arm during the passing showcase. With many teams unwilling to take a chance on him, the Patriots were. The now 25 year old QB played in one game during the 2024-2025 NFL regular season. With the last game of the season against the Buffalo Bills, and nothing left to prove for Drake Maye, Joe Milton III got a chance to show the league who he really was. He balled out in his performance against the Bills defense. He put up 241 passing yards alongside 1 passing touchdown with a 111.4 QBR. To complement his passing, he rushed for 16 yards and 1 rushing touchdown during the regular season finale. Milton’s rushing speciality included elusive scrambling, his speed + acceleration, and ability to avoid contact for extra yardage. On the flip-side, in his passing game, his ability to throw under pressure, make strong and accurate passes (compared better to his college career), alongside making an accurate pass on the run was highlighted during the matchup. The Patriots defeated the Bills 23-16 during the finale.
After a strong performance by Milton, he soon became a highly sought after QB. The teams going after him were the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers (via Jordan Schultz). Many believed he would be the new QB1 for the Steelers or Giants, but the Patriots helped him sign with his family’s favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys traded a 2025 fifth round draft pick for Joe Milton III and a 2025 seventh round pick.
The question many of us were asking was: “How would this signing affect Dak Prescott’s situation in Dallas?” I was able to obtain some insight and analysis on the situation from NFL insider and ESPN analyst, Jeremy Fowler about the QB room situation in Dallas: “The Joe Milton trade is purely for a QB2 with upside. Similar to the Trey Lance deal two years ago. They [Cowboys organization] like athletic backups that can maybe turn into something more down the road as opposed to just getting a journeyman veteran” (via Jeremy Fowler). He also commented saying how the Milton signing would not affect Dak Prescott’s long-term starting job.
How well do you think Joe Milton III signing with the Dallas Cowboys would negatively/positively affect his NFL career?
