FOXBORO — It's fair to say the Patriots really like quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who they selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
They certainly did their homework on the Auburn product, too. Nick Caserio met with him for an hour and a half before Auburn's pro day, and then he came to Gillette Stadium for a top-30 visit where he met with Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and others.
Speaking following the draft Saturday, Caserio said he feels Stidham can be competitive with the other quarterbacks on the roster, and we're assuming he means Tom Brady.
"A lot of people probably know his background, leaving Baylor and then going to Auburn. He's a pretty productive player," he said. "The system is probably a little bit different relative to what he's going to play in offensively here, but he's a really smart kid. We had a number of interactions with him along the way. He's a smart player who takes care of the football with pretty good arms strength. He's fairly athletic, though not a running quarterback but he has decent movement skills, so I'm sure he'll be competitive with the rest of the players that we have at the position."
Caserio added: "He's a smart kid, pretty mature and picks things up well. So, we'll see how it goes. Like I said, he's going to transition into a system that's a little bit different in terms of play calling and some of the other things he's going to be asked to do here. He's an impressive kid. He's very mature, so we'll see how it goes."
It was acknowledged that the system he played in at Auburn is a lot different than what he will be doing in New England, so there will certainly be an adjustment. But, perhaps that could benefit him in the long-run, as some have said Auburn's system held him back.
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