Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton picked in sixth round of NFL Draft
Joe Milton III is officially off to the NFL, selected with the No. 193 overall pick by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the NFL Draft Saturday afternoon in Detroit. He was the second Tennessee player selected in the draft, following junior running back Jaylen Wright.
Milton, who transferred to Tennessee from Michigan before the 2021 season, finished his redshirt senior 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 football 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.
Joe Milton at Tennessee: 2,813 pass yards, 20 pass TDs, 5 INT, 505 yards rushing, 9 rush TDs
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said recently that a combination of Milton’s age and still being a raw quarterback prospect at the next level was the reason he would be picked in the later rounds of the draft, if he was picked at all.
“So that’s kind of a tough combination to sell a little bit there,” Jeremiah said this week during a conference call with reporters previewing the NFL Draft.
The best-case scenario for Milton, according to Jeremiah at the time, was the later rounds on Saturday.
“I think he’s a late-round flyer,” Jeremiah said on the conference call. “(In) terms of trying to find a (team), I think you just want to go somewhere where they’ve got a good quarterback developer. But I think that will be pretty late in the draft.”
10 Tennessee players were picked in the first two NFL Drafts during the Josh Heupel era
Ten Tennessee football players were picked in the first two NFL Drafts during the Josh Heupel era, with five Vols picked both last year and in the 2022 draft.
Darnell Wright was the highest pick, with the offensive tackle going at No. 10 overall to the Chicago Bears last year. He was picked ahead of quarterback Hendon Hooker (third round, No. 68 overall, Detroit Lions), wide receiver Jalin Hyatt (third round, No. 73, New York Giants), wide receiver Cedric Tillman (third round, No. 74, Cleveland Browns) and edge rusher Byron Young (third round, No. 77, Los Angeles Rams).
Two years ago, defensive back Alontae Taylor was the highest Tennessee pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was taken ahead of Velus Jones Jr. (third round, No. 71, Chicago Bears), defensive lineman Matthew Butler (fifth round, No. 175, Las Vegas Raiders), Cade Mays (sixth round, No. 199, Carolina Panthers) and defensive back Theo Jackson (sixth round, No. 204, Minnesota Vikings).
