ESPN predicts the best landing spot for Tennessee QB Joe Milton III in the NFL Draft
The ideal fit for Tennessee football’s Joe Milton III in the upcoming NFL Draft is the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN’s Matt Miller and Jordan Reid. The two NFL Draft analysts last week paired each QB in the draft with their ideal team and draft round.
For Milton, it was the No. 200 overall pick to Buffalo in the sixth round.
“When I’m looking at potential landing spots for late-round quarterbacks,” Reid wrote, “I always focus on skill sets and try to find situations where offensive coordinators wouldn’t have to condense their playbooks much stylistically if those teams had to turn to the backup.
“And Milton has some similarities to Josh Allen because he is big — 6-foot-5, 235 pounds — with great arm strength.”
Joe Milton at Tennessee: 2,813 pass yards, 20 pass TDs, 5 INT, 505 yards rushing, 9 rush TDs
Milton finished last season with 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. Milton in 2022 threw for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns, appearing in nine games as Tennessee’s backup quarterback, playing behind Hendon Hooker.
Milton ended his Tennessee career by completing 22 of 33 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns in the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt on November 25 at Neyland Stadium. He ran five times for 11 yards, giving him six total touchdowns on the day.
ESPN in February wrote that the best-case scenario for Milton in the NFL Draft is the fifth round. That was after he performed for NFL scouts in the Senior Bowl.
“The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Milton was the biggest of the quarterbacks in Mobile,” ESPN’s Jeff Legwold wrote at the time, “and those who saw strengths in his game pointed to a quick release when he is decisive and raw power in the arm. But Milton, a transfer from Michigan who took over for Hendon Hooker in 2023, can struggle with his consistency.”
2024 NFL Draft: April 25-27, Detroit, ABC, NFL Network
“Even though Milton’s accuracy is nowhere close to that of Allen,” Reid wrote, “he would be a good fit in this scheme. Milton has one of the strongest arms you will ever see, with the ability to heave the ball 70 to 75 yards in the air; but his ball placement is all over the place, and that will take some work.”
Buffalo’s quarterback depth chart has Mitch Trubisky and Shane Buechele behind Allen. Trubisky has a two-year, $5.25 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season. Buechele is on a one-year deal worth $1.025 million.
“The Bills recently signed Mitch Trubisky,” Reid wrote, “but having three capable quarterbacks is a necessity in today’s NFL. Many teams view Milton — who threw 20 TD passes last season, including nine over 20 yards downfield — as a project, but he could certainly serve as a No. 3.”
