A new era of Patriots football is underway, and New England might have a completely revamped quarterback room.
Head coach Jerod Mayo already pledged his allegiance to veteran Jacoby Brissett as the Patriots’ Week 1 starter. New England selected North Carolina star Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but it will be patient with the development of its future franchise quarterback.
QBs 1 and 2 are set in stone for the 2024 season, but the Patriots have a heated battle on their hands for the No. 3 QB.
Bailey Zappe is entering his third season with New England and currently holds the third-string job, but a new rookie quarterback is challenging him for his spot.
Meet Joe Milton III — the electrifying dual-threat quarterback who could earn a spot on the Patriots’ depth chart.
MORE PRESEASON: Week 1 rookie QB grades | Week 1 overreactions
Who is Joe Milton III?
Milton is a 24-year-old rookie quarterback from Pahokee, Fla.
The Patriots took a flier on Milton in the sixth round (pick No. 193) of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Tennessee.
Milton played six seasons of college football, starting his career at Michigan.
He was a backup for his first two years and earned the starting job in 2020, but the season was shortened to six games due to COVID-19. Milton eventually split time with backup quarterback Cade McNamara after Michigan started the season 1-4 and finished with a 2-4 record.
Milton transferred to Tennessee for the 2021 season and earned the starting job, but an injury forced him to a backup role behind Hendon Hooker. Hooker carried that momentum to become the Volunteers’ starter in 2022, but roles reversed. Hooker got injured with two games left in the season and Milton took over the starting job.
Milton closed that season with one of the best games of his college career, torching Clemson for 251 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions to win the Orange Bowl.
Hooker graduated after that season, paving the way for Milton to be Tennessee’s starting quarterback in 2023.
As a super senior, Milton threw for 2,813 yards and 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also added 299 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
His 4.53 40-yard dash speed and cannon arm earned him a look at the NFL level and now, he’s fighting for a job on the Patriots.
DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: 2024 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
Joe Milton III college stats
Milton was only a full-time starter for one college season, watering down his stats. He threw for 5,353 yards and 37 touchdowns with 11 interceptions and a 61.6 completion percentage. He also rushed for 661 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
You can find Milton’s year-by-year college stats below.
| Year | School | Class | GP | Cmp-Att | Pct. | Yds | TD | INT |
| 2018 | Michigan | FR | 4 | 3-4 | 75.0 | 58 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | Michigan | SO | 4 | 3-7 | 42.9 | 59 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | Michigan | JR | 6 | 80-141 | 56.7 | 1077 | 4 | 4 |
| 2021 | Tennessee | JR | 8 | 32-61 | 52.5 | 375 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | Tennessee | SR | 9 | 53-82 | 64.6 | 971 | 10 | 0 |
| 2023 | Tennessee | SR | 12 | 229-354 | 64.7 | 2813 | 20 | 5 |
MORE: NFL Preseason injury tracker | RB depth charts
Will Joe Milton III win Patriots third-string QB job?
Expect head coach Mayo to let Zappe and Milton battle it out for the third-string quarterback job throughout the Patriots’ three preseason games.
In the preseason opener, Brissett only played one drive and Maye only played six snaps. Zappe spent the majority of the time under center, but Milton made the most of his opportunity.
Zappe threw for 108 yards and completed 12 of his 20 pass attempts but didn’t do much that popped off the screen. Milton, on the other hand, had one electrifying run to keep a play alive and threw a dart of a 38-yard touchdown to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
JOE MILTON HAS ARRIVED ‼️
pic.twitter.com/5LH3d7COg2— PFF (@PFF) August 9, 2024
He has frequently shown off his rocket arm and game-changing speed, but Mayo took a Belichickian approach to the noise around the rookie QB’s first exhibition game.
“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,” Mayo told reporters, according to NESN. “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.”
At one point during training camp, The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin went as far as to say Milton was outplaying Maye in practice.
The Patriots already know what they have in Zappe. He has been a backup for two seasons and even won four games as an interim starter over that span, but he has a clear ceiling. Milton would give New England a new development project, and his tools and athleticism have a limitless ceiling of potential.
Zappe would be the safe choice as a third quarterback, but Milton could turn into an impact player that no one ever saw coming.
