Tom Brady is out, Jarrett Stidham is in. And Stidham, despite very limited NFL experience has landed on the Chris Simms top 40 quarterback countdown.
Stidham, the presumptive Patriots starter for 2020 (and potentially beyond), comes in at No. 35.
During Thursday’s PFT Live, we took a look at several drives from Stidham during last year’s preseason game against the Giants. He showed great mobility, both lateral and vertical, an inherent sense as to when to slide while running, the ability to run the Patriots offense efficiently, accuracy, arm strength, etc.
Does he have room for improvement? Yes. An interception thrown against the Giants came when Stidham misjudged the amount of time he had before getting hit by a defender who was pursuing him. But there’s plenty of good -- including the ability while running hard to his left to control his arm and throw a soft, touch pass to an open receiver in the end zone.
To stick as the starter in New England, Stidham will have to be much higher than No. 35 next year. If he doesn’t, he’ll likely be off the list altogether come 2021. For now, though, there’s reason to believe the offense is in good hands, and reason to understand why the Patriots weren’t more aggressive when it came to trying to keep Brady around.
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