If you were surprised when the New York Giants selected Daniel Jones with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Todd McShay was right there with you.
The Duke product was the second quarterback taken in this year’s draft after the Arizona Cardinals grabbed Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick. Jones has upside, but if you ask McShay, he’s not even as good as a quarterback who was selected late in the fourth round.
The ESPN NFL draft guru had Jarrett Stidham, who went No. 133 overall to the New England Patriots, slotted higher than Jones in his QB prospect power rankings. McShay believes Stidham was the fifth-best signal-caller in this year’s class, behind Murray, Dwyane Haskins, Drew Lock and Ryan Finely, respectively.
McShay believes the Patriots found great value when they selected Stidham with the 31st pick in the fourth round, and he explained why during Monday’s edition of “First Take” on ESPN.
“I do love the Jarrett Stidham pick,” McShay said. “Fourth round to get Jarrett Stidham, who we thought could go in the second round. For him to have a year or two or three or whatever it is — to sit in that quarterback room and learn from Tom Brady. I mean, that’s an opportunity of a lifetime for a quarterback. He’s gonna learn, and he’s gonna learn the hard way. He’s gonna make him work. But he’s gonna learn how to play quarterback in the NFL and he’s either gonna thrive or he’s gonna be out of town in a couple years. This is a great opportunity for a very talented quarterback who comes from a Baylor situation that was a mess, an Auburn offense that was not suited for him and has had a lot of tough things go on in his life and he’s overcome it. This guy’s got a lot going on physically, and he’s overcome a lot in his life. This is gonna be very interesting. I think Stidham has a chance to be the next guy, but we’re gonna find out really soon if he can mix into that quarterback room because that is not an easy room to be in.”
Stidham’s uncertain future with the Patriots is two-fold. It remains to be seen if the Auburn product is capable of playing at the highest level, and it’s anyone’s guess when Brady finally will decide to hang up his pads. But as McShay noted, the 22-year-old will have all of the resources imaginable to be properly groomed.
The Patriots’ dynasty was ignited by a quarterback taken late in the draft. It only would be fitting if the bridge is gapped by another QB taken outside of the first few rounds.
