Jarrett Stidham is the Patriots' newest quarterback.
New England selected the 22-year-old out of Auburn with the 133rd pick (fourth round) in the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday in Nashville.
With the 133rd pick of the #NFLDraft, the #Patriots select QB Jarrett Stidham. @Jarrett_Stidham | #PatsDraft pic.twitter.com/uT7N5vlX6h
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 27, 2019
Stidham become the seventh quarterback to be selected in this year's draft and the second picked on Day 3. He's the first Auburn quarterback to be drafted since former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton went as the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers in 2011.
The selection of another quarterback comes at an interesting time for the Patriots, who are coming off another Super Bowl win. Starting quarterback Tom Brady will enter his 20th NFL season at 42 years old, though he hasn't shown signs of slowing down yet and he has insisted he still has several years left in his tank.
Stidham likely will compete for the backup job with 33-year-old Brian Hoyer.
One thing that stood out to me about Jarrett Stidham’s conference call with Patriots reporters was how QB-like it was in terms of him mentioning everyone from Robert Kraft, to Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer and Danny Etling etc. He was dialed in on Pats.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 27, 2019
Stidham started each of his two seasons for the Tigers after signing with Auburn in December 2016 as a transfer. He played his freshman season at Baylor in 2015 but sat out the 2016 season. He had the option to enter last year's draft, but he chose to play one more season with Auburn before declaring this year.
Stidham threw for 3,158 yards and compiled 18 touchdowns with six interceptions during 2017. This past season, he threw for 2,794 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions as he guided Auburn to an 8-5 record in his junior year.
Stidham is the fourth quarterback the Patriots have drafted since Brady turned 35 in 2012, following Jimmy Garoppolo (2014), Jacoby Brissett (2016) and Danny Etling (2018).