It only took a handful of throws in a single regular season game for the Dallas Cowboys to see enough potential in Joe Milton III to make a trade for him. But then it only took one season for the Cowboys to determine that they needed to at least add another option to serve as Dak Prescott's backup.
Milton really struggled last preseason with basic concepts, as the young player was learning his second NFL system in under a year and needed to refine some of the rougher parts of his game. His incredible physical gifts speak for themselves, but Milton had some real quarterbacking to learn.
Whether it has been the great coaching of Brian Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, and Steve Shimko, the hard work of Milton, or the fire lit under him by Dallas signing Sam Howell, the third-year signal-caller is a different player this preseason. Schottenheimer acknowledged that in one perfect quote.
Brian Schotteheimer is seeing the Joe Milton growth that Cowboys fans are
After Milton's great showing in the team's second preseason contest against the Arizona Cardinals, Schottenheimer spoke to reporters on Monday after the game. When asked what stood out to him about the young player's outing, the Cowboys' head coach took things in a holistic direction.
"Probably the touch that he was throwing the ball with," Schottenheimer said. "I'm going to talk about both games because just the poise and -- when you're playing quarterback, and you have a play-caller that's the head coach, there's a rhythm that you want to try to get into.
And last year at times, this time of year with Joe, it was a little bit difficult to call plays for Joe because I wasn't sure exactly what's going to happen here and there. And just the poise that he's playing with right now.
"But you asked about one thing that jumped out. I think the touch on the double move to [Jonathan] Mingo was a beautiful, beautiful throw. The touch on the scramble play to Camden Brown was a beautiful deal. Honestly, last year this time, on the touchdown to Malik [Davis], it's probably from me to you, and he probably would have blistered it at Malik and probably would have put a dent in Malik's chest [be]cause he's capable of doing that. He just softened his elbow, and flicked it and made it really easy for Malik. So, two really really good performances."
That just about sums it up.
Nobody has ever doubted Milton's arm strength, but that was a curse and a blessing for him at this point last year. Not every throw needed to be a missile. And while being able to rifle the ball into tight windows is a gift, not being able to reliably throw a catchable pass for a receiver is the opposite.
Schottenheimer's candor when talking about the difficulties of calling plays for Milton was refreshing as well, because it means that real progress has been made this offseason. Their relationship has clearly grown to a point where the head coach feels comfortable saying this.
And as Schottenheimer said, that trust and cohesion between the quarterback and the play-calling head coach is critical. This is a difficult system to learn, and patience should be required on the team's end. But that patience is only rewarded if a player works hard, and Milton has.
Now, Howell may still have the slight edge in the QB2 battle, but Milton III told Schottenheimer this summer that it didn't matter who they brought in, that he believed in himself. And that belief has done wonders for his play on the field this preseason, which has changed the perception of him in Dallas.
Cowboys' Joe Milton has improved in key areas this preseason
Obviously, Milton flashed at times during the team's exhibition slate in 2025, but it has been almost more exciting to see the third-year pro fall more in love with the mundane plays and occasionally pull out a good "what the [expletive]?" type of play, instead of the other way around.
To be an effective NFL quarterback, simply put, you just have to find completions. The best ones do so at every level of the field and no matter what the concept is. Last year, Milton was quite limited, and this year, he's not. Take a look at the numbers from last preseason vs. this year (Courtesy of PFF).
2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
Completion % (0-9 yds) | 83.3 | 78.6 |
Completion % (10-19 yds) | 41.2 | 75.0 |
Completion % (20+ yds) | 30.8 | 50.0 |
His completion percentage may be slightly lower on short passes in 2026, but there's a reason for that: A higher volume. Last year's sample size was so small because Milton III was in love with throwing deep passes. As we said earlier, now he is falling in love with the easy or simple throws.
2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
% of Attempts 0-9 yards | 36.9 | 50.0 |
% of Attempts 10-19 yards | 26.2 | 14.3 |
% of Attempts 20+ yards | 20.0 | 7.1 |
By playing it a bit safer, Milton is able to be much more efficient and move the chains a lot more. This has led to more scores and fewer turnovers, as he has notched three touchdowns through the air and zero interceptions in two games, as opposed to two and two in last year's three-game slate.
Funny enough, PFF categorizes a "big-time throw" as "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window." In 60 attempts last preseason, Milton had just three, along with three turnover-worthy plays.
This year, in 28 attempts, Milton has two big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays. It sounds counterintuitive, but his willingness to just make simple throws has actually made his rocket arm more effective because he only uses it when needed. And it is not always needed.
But limiting turnover-worthy plays is incredible because a backup's job is essentially to come in and not sink the offense. Giving the ball away does exactly that, and Milton isn't putting it in harm's way at all this preseason.
Fans have seen this growth in front of their very eyes, but Schottenheimer's quote perfectly encapsulated it. And the numbers back up just how improved Milton has been compared to this time last year.
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