CBS Sports: The Dallas Cowboys “astonished” by the new $4.2 million quarterback’s “freakish talents.”
To say there have been doubts that have trailed new Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Joe Milton III for years would be an understatement. According to a fresh story out of Cowboys training camp this week, however, Milton has taken at least a step toward addressing his detractors.
He was referred to as “awful” throughout his three years at Michigan, from 2018 to 2020. According to Milton, he “didn’t really work at being a good quarterback … and expected to just be handed the job.”
He moved to Tennessee, where he was “hampered by inaccuracies in throwing the ball downfield” while having “seemingly limitless potential.”
An NFL scouting report criticized Milton for his “lack of reading defenses after the snap,” and “tendency to overthrow his receivers downfield.”
The New England Patriots saw something good in him, however, and chose him last year in the sixth round even though they had already spent their first round choice on North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and had veteran Jacoby Brissett under contract as well.
Milton Makes an Impressive Debut for the Patriots
However, until Week 18, when he played all but three of the Patriots’ 64 snaps, Milton, then 24 years old, spent his first season on the practice squad. Even though the Buffalo Bills reserves made up the majority of his opponents, Milton’s performance was so outstanding that he attracted attention across the NFL and was a strong contender for a trade.
On April 3, New England traded him to the Cowboys, receiving only a fifth-round pick in exchange, coupled with a seventh-round draft pick.
Nevertheless, Milton was still being questioned, this time over his personality. He was “not a good dude,” according to reports in the Boston media, and New England moved him because they thought he should be given the opportunity to compete with Maye for the starting position.
This week, Milton had a chance to prove to his new company that the accusations leveled against him are baseless, and he reportedly succeeded. Milton is reported to have “stunned” his new Cowboys colleagues with his extraordinary athletic ability, despite his erratic performance at his first Organized Team Activity (OTA) session.
Milton could have the strongest arms in the NFL.
Christian Kirby of SI.com writes, “Milton was a player who made the most of this opportunity, as the quarterback’s arm strength and throwing abilities have reportedly stunned his Dallas Cowboys teammates.” Since his time with the Tennessee Volunteers, Milton’s arm strength has always been impressive. The quarterback’s ability to throw might put him in a strong position to secure a starting role should Dak Prescott be unavailable, according to reports from Dallas’ practice thus far.
According to a post by the NFL Rookie Watch account on X (previously Twitter), Milton’s colleagues were astonished by his “freakish talents.” Milton has thrown passes of 80 yards or more on many occasions that have been captured on camera.
One NFL scout allegedly thinks Milton has the “most live” arm of any quarterback in the NFL and has the potential to thrive in the Cowboys quarterback room, according to NFL Rookie Watch.
