Patriots Had Simple Reason For Drafting Joe Milton After Drake Maye

Did the Patriots need to take another quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft after selecting one third overall? Probably not.

But when an intriguing opportunity was presented to New England in the penultimate round, the organization couldn't resist.

The Patriots selected Joe Milton III in the sixth round (193rd overall) on the final day of the draft in Detroit. Milton was taken 190 picks after fellow signal-caller Drake Maye, who New England clearly sees as its next franchise quarterback in the near future.

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Head coach Jerod Mayo hit all the cliches when he explained the Milton pick, preaching the importance of adding "good football players" in the draft and encouraging "competition" across the roster. De facto general manager Eliot Wolf was a bit more direct when he addressed the Patriots' QB double-up on a recent episode of "The Adam Schefter Podcast."

"It was just one of those picks where there was too much talent in him to pass that up," Wolf told Schefter, per MassLive.

Wolf was able to watch Milton in person last season and thought the Tennessee product's arm talent was "unbelievable." Milton has very clear flaws in his game, but Wolf believes the 24-year-old will be able to make progress under the direction of Alex Van Pelt, T.C. McCartney, Ben McAdoo and other Patriots coaches.

At present, the odds are against Milton to ever have a critically important role in New England. But at that point in the draft, it was worth it for the Patriots to take a flier on a prospect who possesses a truly rare talent.