Patriots' explanation for drafting QB defies logic given state of the roster

This was an inevitability. Somebody was going to fall in love with former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton III in the draft process. He has all the talent in the world, arguably the most gifted practice player anybody who has ever covered the SEC before has ever seen. Too bad he is the anti-Charles Barkley, if you will. The knuckleheads who drafted Milton were the New England Patriots.

While speaking to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said that Milton had "too much talent" to pass up in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. From a pure talent perspective, Milton could have been as good as Matthew Stafford was coming out of Georgia, Joe Burrow out of LSU or Bryce Young out of Alabama, all former No. 1 picks out of the SEC.

However, I have seen Michigan pivot off Milton in favor of Cade McNamara before. I have also seen him run the ball out of bounds to end a winnable game for the Vols in losing fashion before. Last and certainly not least, I have seen him try to hit an open receiver before vs. Georgia, only to fire a howitzer at the back of his interior offensive lineman's head. If only he could put it all together for UT.

With the Patriots using the No. 3 overall pick on former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, it seemed like an unnecessary risk for a franchise that is in dire need of acquiring more talent rapidly.

New England Patriots rolled the dice on Joe Milton's massive talent

To be positive about this for a minute or so, there is not a ton of pressure on Milton in New England. He does not have to be the guy. In fact, he was drafted not to be. Jacoby Brissett is the now, Maye is the future and Milton is some long-term project at the position. In a way, the Patriots were probably better equipped to take on Milton as a draft pick than most. I also love Alex Van Pelt being here, too.

However, we are talking about a team that is so bereft of talent that it is going to take years before the Patriots are even playoff-viable. This is a long-term rebuild, but you would think that New England would want to exhaust every resource to get back to its winning ways as soon as possible. You have to ask yourself this. What is the end game here with the Patriots drafting Milton anyway? I don't get it.

See, what I keep going back to is he is just going to take reps away from Maye during the same rookie contract window. Unless the Patriots are going to pull a fast one on us and make Milton change positions, it is hard to justify the pick, even if Milton has all that impressive talent. For my money, I would have considered drafting Milton if I had a suitable veteran option in place, unlike New England.

Either Milton becomes a game-wrecking tight end in three years or he is playing on another team.