Joe Milton celebrates dazzling deep ball with finger gun at 2024 NFL Combine
For all his foibles as a quarterback, arm strength has never been an issue for Joe Milton. The former Tennessee quarterback by way of Michigan brought one of the strongest arms in recent memory to the 2024 NFL Combine and got to show it off during throwing drills.
Safe to say his “Bazooka Joe” moniker is well earned. And Milton seemed to be feeling good after connecting on a particularly pretty deep ball during the throwing session.
Watching his pass find the hands of a receiver 60-plus yards away, Milton made sure to shoot a finger gun at the projectile he’d hurled as it came down.
For the effort, the quarterback got an appreciative cheer from the Indianapolis crowd. After all, there aren’t a lot of humans that can throw a football that way.
A top quarterback prospect explained his decision not to workout in Indianapolis
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is projected as a probable first-round NFL Draft pick, but the gunslinger opted not to participate in drills at the NFL Combine this week.
He will instead wait for his Pro Day, but there are benefits Maye said he can get from being at the NFL Combine anyway.
“I think the big thing is just getting in front of these teams, kind of let them know who I am, what I’m about,” Drake Maye told the NFL Network’s Stacey Dales. “Watch these guys and kind of do it all at Pro Day at the end of March, get ready for that.”
The talent for the North Carolina quarterback is obvious. From the moment he took over for the Tar Heels as a redshirt freshman he was one of the most electric players in college.
Maye threw for 7,929 yards and 62 touchdowns in the last two years, while throwing only 16 interceptions. He also ran for 1,147 yards and 16 scores.
But what he wants teams to take away from the Combine isn’t necessarily his athleticism or his productivity at the college level.
“Just be myself, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Drake Maye said. “I don’t think be somebody I’m not. I think if they like me they like me, if they don’t they’ll draft somebody else. So try to be myself in there and go in there with confidence.”
What will Maye provide an NFL team?
“Just a winner. I think I can do it all,” he said. “I can play inside the pocket, play outside the pocket and just connect with the guys is a big thing, just be one of the guys.”