The New England Patriots took a pair of quarterbacks in the NFL Draft late last month.
The pick that grabbed headlines was at No. 3, when the Patriots selected North Carolina’s Drake Maye. But New England added another signal-caller later, grabbing Tennessee’s Joe Milton in the sixth round.
While everyone knows that Maye will be the guy for the Pats, former NFL quarterback Phil Simms thinks that Milton’s presence may add some more pressure for him.
“I hated it,” Simms said of the Milton pick during a recent episode of The Simms Complete podcast. “I hated it for Drake Maye. … There’s nothing like being a quarterback and walking out on the field and physically being the best capable guy. Now you’re gonna put Joe Milton in that process, another rookie, that even to me makes it worse.”
Simms went on to praise Milton’s physical attributes, noting his big arm and the fact that he is very mobile. However, he thinks that can make things a bit tougher for Maye.
“It’s just me as an ex-quarterback, I don’t like it,” Simms said. “I don’t like the whole circumstance, the way it looks, and what kind of little box it can put Drake Maye into.”
Milton is coming off of an impressive 2023 campaign in which he threw for 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 64.7 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 299 yards and seven scores.
At 6-foot-5 and around 245 pounds, Milton is certainly an impressive physical specimen, and it’s not hard to see him potentially having an NFL career somewhere. There has even been chatter of him switching to tight end, although Milton has said that won’t be happening.
Unless the Patriots are going to force Milton to change positions, drafting him certainly does send a strange message to Maye. They may have simply felt he was the best player available and wanted to add him as insurance, which is a smart move from an organizational standpoint. But you have to wonder if it’s going to affect Maye’s confidence.
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