Former Vols quarterback Joe Milton is doing everything he can to hear his name called during draft weekend. With the arm strength he has, there's a good chance he will, too. Many teams view Milton as a developmental prospect that's worthy of a late-round pick and the subsequent time required to see if he can be molded into an NFL QB.
There are several teams out there make sense, but there's one in particular -the Indianapolis Colts- that really stands out. And it's not just because the Colts are the team that drafted Vols legend and NFL legend, Peyton Manning.
His arm talent stands out right away -- he has the arm strength to throw the football through a brick wall, and we saw him heave a few incredible deep balls at the combine... But while Milton attempted maybe too many fastballs in the past, I saw improved patience and better decision-making in the underneath areas this past season... Milton looked the part at the Senior Bowl, with great size and arm talent. There wasn't another QB in Mobile who could match his pass velocity.
... He still struggles with deep accuracy... Touch on vertical throws remains a concern despite the arm strength. He has to learn to layer the ball to his desired spots... That showed at the Senior Bowl and we saw scattershot ball placement each day of practice. As we saw on tape, Milton put too much pace on many of his throws, negatively impacting his accuracy.
Potential NFL team fit: Indianapolis Colts - Jordan Reid, ESPN
The key with the Colts is head coach Shane Steichen
Steichen has proven he can coach up quarterbacks in the NFL, ever since he became the Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks coach in 2016. He immediately helped Philip Rivers earn three-straight Pro Bowl nods from 2016-2018, who threw 93 touchdowns during that span. That tied for the most touchdowns thrown by Rivers in a three-season span over the course of his career.
Steichen was instrumental in creating the Philadelphia Eagles offense and Jalen Hurts' MVP-caliber season, and, he also had the Colts on the brink of the playoffs in 2023 despite losing Anthony Richardson four games into the season. Sure enough, a big reason why they hung around was because of the play of Garnder Minshew, another quarterback Steichen has been able to develop.
If any coach can tap into Milton and finally get everything to click - it's Steichen. His offensive philosophy/scheme is also very QB-friendly, which would only help with the development.
And, it's not like Milton would be expected to see the field, outside of another big injury to Richardson. It's obviously Richardson's team and he was showing flashes of being a franchise quarterback before he went down. An Indy pairing would allow Milton to develop at a reasonable rate. Who knows what could happen from that point on.
And, having a little bit of history on his side in the fact that Manning started his career in Indy and built a Hall of Fame career there, certainly doesn't hurt, either.
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