The New England Patriots have already showed confidence in Jarrett Stidham succeeding Tom Brady as their starting quarterback, and they displayed even more by passing on Andy Dalton over the weekend. Dalton signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, leaving Stidham as the clear No. 1 on the depth chart ahead of Brian Hoyer and undrafted free agents J'Mar Smith and Brian Lewerke.
Unless the Patriots have a change of heart and sign Cam Newton, Stidham is the man in New England. Gus Malzahn, Stidham's college coach at Auburn, isn't concerned about his former quarterback taking over the mantle from arguably the greatest quarterback of all time.
"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," Malzahn said of Stidham, via ESPN's Mike Reiss. "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."
Stidham was highly productive in his two seasons at Auburn, throwing for 5,952 yards and 36 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions. The Tigers went 19-9 and finished as high as No. 10 in the country in his two seasons. New England drafted Stidham in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, although it wasn't clear he would be the successor to Brady at the time he was selected.
The Patriots clearly have seen enough out of Stidham to give him an opportunity to be the starting quarterback in 2020. There isn't a better team for Stidham to succeed in the NFL than the Patriots, which is why Malzahn is excited for his former pupil.
"When he got drafted by the Patriots, I thought it was a perfect spot for him system-wise -- spreading the field," Malzahn said. "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."
