Browns NFL Draft Profile: QB Joe Milton

Cleveland appears set at quarterback, but would they take a risk on a raw talent with a big arm?

The Cleveland Browns have a clear pecking order at the quarterback position after doing some work in free agency.

Deshaun Watson is the unquestioned starter. If Watson were to get hurt, Jameis Winston is there to step in, unless he gets traded at the end of training camp to a desperate team, in which case Tyler Huntley is around. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who saw time as a rookie due to Watson’s injuries, is heading into his second season presumably wiser, but also in need of some more time on the sidelines as opposed to the playing field.

Quarterback does not appear to be a need in the 2024 NFL Draft, but general manager Andrew Berry is nothing if not forward-looking when it comes to building the roster, which could explain why the Browns are hosting Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton for one of their pre-draft visits.

Milton has been around – he attempted four passes as a freshman for Michigan in 2018 – and only was the unquestioned full-time starter last season with Tennessee. Still, he has the raw talent and “big arm” that people dig, so let’s take a look at what Milton brings to the field.

Name: Joe Milton

Position: Quarterback

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 235 pounds

College: Tennessee Volunteers

Stats (6 seasons): 43 games, 5,353 passing yards, 61.5 completion percentage, 37 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 146.1 quarterback rating

Relative Athletic Score

Average “Big Board” Position As of Publishing Date

161st Overall (NFL Mock Draft Database)

PFF Big Board Rank: 135th

What an Expert is Saying

Pros and Cons

Joe Milton had an interesting college career as he spent his first three seasons with Michigan before transferring to Tennessee, where he played another three years. It wasn’t until 2023 that he had a chance to be the full-time starter and he made the most of the opportunity by passing for 2,813 yards, completing 64.7 percent of his passes, and tossing 20 touchdowns against five interceptions for the Volunteers.

Milton has the arm to put the fear into opposing defenses, but he has not always been able to keep things under control, according to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

(Milton is a) rare physical specimen with the proverbial “arm talent to make all the NFL throws,” but he’s prevented from doing so by a lack of timing, accuracy, and touch. Milton is gifted with a cannon for a right arm and can throw the ball as hard or as far as you want. His fastballs are often inaccurate and difficult to catch for moving targets, and he was wildly inconsistent in locating his deep throws. He can elude pressure, extend plays, and put jaw-dropping highlights on tape, but he’s never been able to mature his game from splashy to consistent. He’s primarily a single-side reader who struggles to improvise with his eyes. The physical ingredients could get him drafted on Day 3, but his lack of development over six seasons discourages his projection.

The fact that it took so long for Milton to develop his game is a drawback, but he does possess some useful tools, according to Pro Football Focus:

Milton is as physically gifted as they come at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds with good mobility and a cannon of an arm. He operates almost exclusively from the shotgun in Vol’s wide formation vertical offense. His trump card is his arm talent. He is also useful in the power/RPO run game.

However, he still has a ways to go as a passer before becoming a potential NFL starter. His feet are heavy, and he can stop moving when he’s scanning the field. He also tends to get tunnel vision on primary reads and fails to move on in his progressions. His accuracy when throwing the fastball can be good, but his overall ball placement with touch is far too inconsistent.

Milton is the definition of a developmental quarterback, one that would be best sitting as a team’s third quarterback for at least a few years before trusting that he can move to a backup role.

Browns Player Drafting Could Impact

The Browns have been collecting quarterbacks this offseason with the signings of Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley to go along with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, last year’s developmental quarterback who was pushed into action earlier than planned. The Browns are not going to carry four quarterbacks, but if they do decide to select one in the draft, Huntley and DTR would be the odd men out.

Priority

Low: The Browns are locked into Deshaun Watson at quarterback for another two or three seasons, as long as Watson can stay on the field. They have their veteran backup in Winston, with a spare in Huntley if another team sees a quarterback get hurt and they come calling in desperation for Winston. As much as he struggled last season, the team reportedly likes Thompson-Robinson, so it seems as if general manager Andrew Berry will focus on other areas in this year’s draft.