The Patriots are showing quite a bit of confidence in Jarrett Stidham by not adding a veteran free agent this offseason, or drafting one last month.
And someone who knows Stidham really well, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, seems to agree.
"It definitely helped him to learn under the best and see what that looks like, but he's the kind of young man, too, this is what he's been waiting on. I'll tell you, the moment won't be too big for him. He'll be up to the challenge, that's what I expect," Malzahn said to ESPN's Mike Reiss. "Even when he got here, before he played his first game, you could just kind of tell he was a mature young man. Like a gym rat, always at the complex trying to learn, study film.
When he got drafted by the Patriots (in 2019), I thought it was a perfect spot for him system-wise — spreading the field. He's so good with protections, changing protections, and scheme-wise everything that goes with it, and just the flexibility the scheme gives him. I think that really applies to his strength."
Stidham has already seemed to have made a good impression on his Patriots teammates.
"He's a people person, too. He has the ability, right off the bat, to develop relationships. People rally around him," Malzahn said. "When he first got here, he had spent one-on-one with the coaches, one-on-one time with the players. He just has that ability that people want to follow him.
"In 2017, he had an outstanding year. He played his best football in our biggest games. Of course, we beat our two rivals and went to the SEC championship game. Had a great year. The next year, our top two receivers tore their ACLs in the spring, so that was kind of tough on him. But he did a great job when he was here."
Besides Stidham, the Patriots have Brian Hoyer and then undrafted rookies J'Mar Smith and Brian Lewerke on the quarterbacks depth chart.
