FRISCO - As long as we emphasize the word "potential,'' almost every word that comes after it is, we suppose fair game.
In April, the Dallas Cowboys sent a 2025 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for QB Joe Milton and a 2025 seventh-rounder. The hope? Maybe, just maybe, Milton could - as Cooper Rush left via free agency for the Baltimore Ravens - be a dart that hits the bullseye as a backup.
Or, at the very least, a prospect to groom somewhere well behind starter Dak Prescott.
In the very early going? "Bazooka Joe'' has absolutely looked viable in the latter category.
And given the fact that during OTAs and the team’s mandatory minicamp, as CowboysCountry.com reported based on our eyeballing workouts - Milton leapfrogged over Will Grier into the QB2 position?
Yes, maybe he belongs in the former category as well.
An issue here? Frankly, folks who are writing about the workouts without the benefit of having watched them are taking legit information and turning it into something else.
Our friend Saad Yousuf of The Athletic noted said about Milton ...
“One player who really caught my attention was quarterback Joe Milton. He’s very strong and makes throws down the field rolling to his off side look effortless. You can tell he still needs to process the game a little faster, but he’s a young player in a new system. I’ll be fascinated to see how he performs during training camp and preseason games.
"He has the tools to develop into something more for the Cowboys down the road.”
This is all valid. The Patriots gave away Milton in order to focus on the development of 2024 first-round QB Drake Maye, and Dallas is the beneficiary.
He's 6-6 and 240 and he has a cannon arm and he can run and he can do gymnastic backflips rather effortlessly.
But ...
Our colleagues at some national sites are now suggesting that Milton "standing out'' means he's a sudden threat to Dak as the QB1, and clarity is needed.
We were at all the media-open OTAs and minicamp workouts, and what is left out of the stories on Milton's performance: Dak Prescott was also a "standout.''
Get it?