Tom Brady and Joe Milton III each spent multiple seasons as a Michigan quarterback before becoming sixth-round picks of the New England Patriots.
That second similarity was cemented Saturday afternoon, when the Patriots selected the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Milton with the 193rd overall pick of this year’s NFL draft. Milton, who played three years with the Wolverines before transferring and playing three seasons at Tennessee, completed 229 of 354 passes (64.7%) for 2,813 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions for last season’s Volunteers.
“I had all the hats laid out,” Milton said Saturday night on a conference call with Boston-area media members. “You just never know where you’ll end up, so I was just waiting on any phone call.”
Milton was among three Tennessee players who were chosen on the third and final day of the draft, which consisted of the fourth through seventh rounds. Running back Jaylen Wright went to the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round as the 120th overall selection, while cornerback Kamal Hadden went to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won the past two Super Bowls, in the sixth round as the 211th pick.
New England had not drafted a Vols player since using its first-round pick in 2008 on linebacker Jerod Mayo, who is now in his first season as head coach of the Patriots. Mayo is the successor to Bill Belichick, the architect of the organization’s six Super Bowl titles with Brady at the helm for all of them.