Joe Milton III showcased his potential in the final week of the NFL season, but it came at the wrong time for some Patriots fans.
Milton came on in relief for Drake Maye in Week 18. The 2024 sixth-round pick threw for 241 yards and one touchdown and guided New England to a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.
The win felt good for the players and coaching staff. However, fans weren’t pleased to see the Patriots lose the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and drop to No. 4. Players pushed back on the idea of tanking, and Milton doubled down a week later.
“I need y’all to understand it from my point of view, bro. Listen, I ain’t played football since preseason,” Milton said on Instagram Live on Thursday. “If y’all was in my shoes and y’all was given an opportunity to go play, why would you go out there and not show up and show out. So y’all can talk about me if I lose? Y’all what me to go out there and lose and be like, ‘I’m glad he lost so he could get traded.’ And then what? Make that make sense. They want me to tank for the first pick and then y’all ain’t gonna do nothing. You’ll be like, ‘Joe’s trash anyway. That’s why you getting the first pick.’ I’m gonna go there and show out.”
It is ironic that fans couldn’t appreciate Milton’s talent and realize that the 2024 draft class wasn’t all that bad. But it did highlight how fans tend to misunderstand that players don’t tank. It’s just not in their mentality.
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The Week 18 win, however, was not enough to save Jerod Mayo’s job. It left Eliot Wolf and the Patriots front office waiting for the next head coach to collaborate with to decide what to do with the No. 4 pick.
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images
