FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots didn’t wait until the final round to select a quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Late in the fourth round Saturday, the Patriots used the 133rd overall selection to pick Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, who will learn behind Tom Brady as the soon-to-be 42-year-old quarterback enters his 20th NFL season.
Stidham, who began his college career at Baylor, was a two-year starter at Auburn. After an impressive junior season (66.5 percent completion percentage, 18 touchdowns, six interceptions) that earned him second-team All-SEC honors, he regressed as a senior, hurting his draft stock.
In 13 games last season, Stidham completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 2,794 yards and 18 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Here are Stidham’s measurables and combine testing numbers:
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 218 pounds
Hand size: 9 1/8 inches
Arm length: 32 inches
40-yard dash: 4.81 seconds
Bench press: N/A
Vertical jump: 31 inches
Broad jump: 110 inches
Three-cone drill: 7.28 seconds
Short shuttle: 4.33 seconds
Despite his less-than-stellar senior season stats, Stidham is viewed as an accurate, intelligent passer with upside. He won’t be ready to contribute immediately, but in New England, he won’t be asked to.
Stidham also finished his college career on a positive note, completing 15 of 21 passes (71.4 percent) for five touchdowns with no interceptions in a 63-14 win over Purdue in the Music City Bowl. He then earned Quarterback of the Week honors at the 2019 Senior Bowl.
Stidham, the seventh player selected by the Patriots in this year’s draft, will compete with veteran Brian Hoyer and 2018 seventh-round pick Danny Etling for the top backup spot behind Brady.
New England now has selected four quarterbacks in the last six drafts: Stidham, Etling, Jacoby Brissett (third round, 2016) and Jimmy Garoppolo (second round, 2014).
After drafting Stidham, the Patriots traded the 134th overall pick and one of their four seventh-round selections (No. 243) to the Los Angeles Rams for two fifth-rounders (Nos. 162 and 167).
