Jarrett Stidham of the Auburn Tigers looks to pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
From the Patriots Draft Hub at 985TheSportsHub.com
The New England Patriots selected Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham with the 133rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday. Stidham reportedly had a pre-draft visit with the Patriots earlier this month.
Stidham looked like an ascending prospect after the 2017 season, but his stock dropped after a disappointing junior campaign in 2018. He’s widely considered an intelligent, mobile quarterback with good-enough size at 6-foot-2 and above-average arm talent and accuracy. But his official draft profile at NFL.com describes a QB who “lost both his confidence and poise” leading a dysfunctional Auburn offense in 2018.
For New England fans, the most intriguing passage in Stidham’s draft profile is the following: “Stidham went from ascending prospect to developmental quarterback and he needs to find the right set of coaches and system to help rehab his confidence and timing.”
There may be no better landing spot in the league for a QB in Stidham’s situation. He has at least one season (maybe 3-4) to develop behind Tom Brady with Bill Belichick coaching him up. There’s not likely to be any pressure to play him any time soon.
If Belichick can revive the confidence Stidham showed as a sophomore, he’ll have a chance to unearth Brady’s true successor as a fourth-round steal. But the mere fact that Stidham was available in the fourth round in the first place illuminates the time he needs to develop.
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