First impressions of Joe Milton’s ‘cannon’ arm at Patriots minicamp originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Joe Milton faces an uphill battle to get on the field in New England with veteran Jacoby Brissett It is No. 3 overall pick, Drake Maye ahead of him on the Patriots’ quarterback depth chart.
But Milton has one thing going for him: he can shoot.
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Tennessee product boasted the strongest arm in a 2024 NFL Draft class full of strong arms, and Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran got his first in-person look at Milton’s throwing abilities over the weekend at New England rookie minicamp.
Let’s just say Curran wasn’t disappointed.
“He’s got a damn cannon. It’s indescribably strong,” Curran said of Milton’s arm on Tuesday. Arbella Early Edition, as seen in the video above. “The arc of the ball – there is none. It comes out very hot.”
Curran has seen many gun-toting QBs come through the Patriots organization, but Milton, Curran says, is on a different level — even when compared to Maye, who may have the second strongest arm in the class behind his Patriots draft pick.
“Ryan Mallett had a gun, but this is a different plane,” Curran said. “And Drake Maye has a really good arm. He has a plus arm. He probably has one of the best arms in the draft — and you can see that coming out of Milton’s hand in a different way.
“Like, something as stupid as this: I’d bet the RPMs at its release are off the charts. It’s fun to watch.”
Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi was also in Foxboro over the weekend and highlighted one Milton play in particular.
“There was a play in practice where he rolled to his left,” Giardi recalled, “and he swung his hips and (threw) 40 yards like it was just a little move — and it was on a line.”
Of course, there’s a reason why Milton fell to the sixth round. The 24-year-old often struggles with precision – NFL.com scouting report on Milton notes his “disturbing lack of positioning and timing” on deep balls – and appears to have no touch either.
“That’s part of Joe’s problem,” Giardi added. “When people look at him, (they) say, ‘Everything has velocity and he doesn’t throw layers.’ So there are parts of his game where he’s going to have to learn, ‘No, this needs a little more arc and a little less energy.’ But it’s worth trying.”
Even though Milton is a work in progress, the Patriots clearly felt he had enough talent to justify a late flight. And considering they’ve done a complete reset at the most important position in the game, why not take a chance on Maye and see if he can develop under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach TC McCartney?
