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Two New England Patriots quarterbacks hardly played, and rookie Joe Milton III stole the show amid newfound national hype.
Milton went 4-6 for 54 yards and a touchdown plus 22 yards rushing on five carries in a 17-3 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers on August 8. A sixth-round draft pick, the former Tennessee star really turned heads with a 13-yard run as he scrambled and weaved through the Panthers defense. His performance got the national media talking.
“I don’t even listen to that stuff,” Mayo told reporters afterward. “We know he has a big arm. He has the athleticism. He’s getting better with his reads every single day. He has natural leadership ability.”
“But once again, it’s not just about one game; it’s about the full body of work. You can come out here and play well but you also have to do it on a day-to-day basis, in practice and you’ve got to gain the confidence of not only the coaches but also your teammates. And this was a step forward for him,” Mayo added.
Milton will have a challenge to make the 53-man roster despite his performance and the recent hoopla. The Patriots drafted Drake Maye out of North Carolina with the No. 3 pick and brought back veteran Jacoby Brissett as a potential starter.
Bailey Zappe also remaining in the quarterback room poses a challenge for Milton to move up the depth chart. Zappe played the most of the four amid 12-20 passing for 108 yards before Milton came in.
“It was about opportunity. It was about opportunity. Zappe went out there, look, he’s won games in the NFL before. But then just putting Joe in at a time where we needed a spark and he provided that spark, which I thought was good,” Mayo said.
Milton had a solid 2023 season at Tennessee before he entered the draft. He threw for 2,813 yards and 20 touchdowns plus his 299 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
Joe Milton III: ‘I’m Going to Show My Personality’
Milton didn’t consider the moment too bright to come in and put on a show for the fans at Gillette Stadium. He also iced the game in the process for a 17-0 lead on his 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver JaQuae Jackson.
“I feel like, no matter if it’s the first game or the last game of the season, I feel like the more you relax, just having a calm mind and not having a scrambled brain, just being you regardless,” Milton told reporters. “Like, I have a big personality, I’m going to show my personality every time I have the chance to. My thing is, I want to make sure everybody smiles. Every day. Day in and day out.”
“Make sure everybody smiles day in and day out. Just going out there letting guys know, ‘listen man, you don’t have to be stuck up, have fun, talk, talk trash.’ It’s football. At the end of the day, it’s football, so no matter what you do, you go out there and have fun and operate and do the assignment your coach told you to do throughout the week,” Milton continued. “It’s going to allow you to have fun. Just having fun and showing my personality is all I like to do.”
Jacoby Brissett Talks Joe Milton III Performance
Brissett liked what he saw from Milton.
“We talked about — the whole thing is just like the coaches tell you whenever you’re getting out,” Brissett told reporters. “Obviously you play those first couple plays and then you get stalled, You’re like, ‘I want to go back out there. And they’re just like, no, we’re just not doing that.’ And to Joe, I thought he came in and played well. Obviously led us in a touchdown drive with a great touchdown to Quae [JaQuae Jackson] and I was very proud of him.”
Brissett threw just three passes in the game during one-series appearance.
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