How Joe Milton III has impressed Cowboys since trade with Patriots

Eyebrows were raised when the Dallas Cowboys surprisingly agreed to acquire backup quarterback Joe Milton III from the New England Patriots back in April. 

During a recent chat with Jon Machota of The Athletic, Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay touched upon what the club has seen from Milton since springtime workouts. 

"Football’s about coaching, and coaches make guys better if they want to get better," McClay said while speaking about Milton. "And so I’m impressed by the fact that Joe is engrossed in what we’re doing and really tying it all together.
I think the best thing for him was to be around a guy like (starter Dak Prescott) to understand what it takes so that talent can come out."

The Patriots selected Milton in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he was mostly a forgotten figure by the time he ended August beneath veteran Jacoby Brissett and 2024 first-round draft pick Drake Maye on the depth chart. Milton made his official NFL debut in Week 18 of the season and completed 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards with a touchdown against a Buffalo Bills side that was mostly playing backups. He also rushed for 16 yards and a score on 10 carries in that outing. 

"(His play in New England’s season finale last year) was part of it," McClay said about why the Cowboys took a flier on Milton when they have Prescott as their QB1. "...We had actually watched Joe at the combine, just me and (executive vice president Stephen Jones) kind of messing around, just kind of going, 'Hey, let’s look at the different guys.' Started to spark the interest a little bit, seeing what was there. And then, he was available at the right time, for the right costs."

In the end, New England traded Milton and a 2025 seventh-round pick to Dallas for a 2025 fifth-rounder.

Per Machota, first-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer acknowledged that Milton looked like a quarterback who "hasn’t played a ton of football in real situations" as the 25-year-old completed 17-of-29 pass attempts for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception in Dallas' 31-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 9. 

Prescott clearly is in no danger of losing his job to Milton anytime soon. Nevertheless, the Cowboys' development of Milton over the next 12 months could be fascinating to follow.