THE SUCCESSOR? Stidham appears to be Pats’ starter at QB

Welcome to the Jarrett Stidham era.

Now that the 2020 NFL Draft is in the books, the most logical conclusion to make for the Patriots is that the successor to Tom Brady will be the 2019 fourth-round pick from Auburn. Stidham will still have to beat veteran Brian Hoyer — something he did last offseason — but when the Patriots play their first game of the 2020 season, it’d be a surprise if Stidham isn’t under center.

Coach Bill Belichick had several [...]

Welcome to the Jarrett Stidham era.

Now that the 2020 NFL Draft is in the books, the most logical conclusion to make for the Patriots is that the successor to Tom Brady will be the 2019 fourth-round pick from Auburn. Stidham will still have to beat veteran Brian Hoyer — something he did last offseason — but when the Patriots play their first game of the 2020 season, it’d be a surprise if Stidham isn’t under center.

Coach Bill Belichick had several chances in the draft to show some doubt in the second-year quarterback. Instead, round-after-round, the Patriots passed on quarterback-after-quarterback. Had the team selected just one player at this position in the first four rounds, it would have been fair to wonder if there was some doubt in Stidham’s ability to handle the job.

Instead, seven rounds went by without the Patriots selecting a quarterback. The team opted to add two undrafted free agents in J’Mar Smith (Louisiana Tech) and Brian Lewerke (Michigan State). When speaking with the media on Saturday, Belichick was asked that if by not selecting another quarterback he was showing confidence in Stidham.

"I like both those players," Belichick said. "We've had Brian [Hoyer] a couple of times. I think he certainly gives us a very solid level of play. We have a lot of confidence in him. And Jarrett had a good year last year. He improved a lot. We'll see where that takes him. Yeah, I have confidence in both players."

That became obvious as the draft unfolded.

In Round 1, the quarterback situation played out like many thought it would. The Patriots had zero chance at Joe Burrow (selected first overall by Cincinnati), Tua Tagovailoa (fifth overall by Miami) or Justin Herbert (sixth overall by the Los Angeles Chargers). Of that group, Herbert was the name to watch. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels met with him at the NFL Combine and the Patriots were at his Oregon Pro Day.

After the top three quarterbacks went off the board, the Patriots still had a chance at Jordan Love of Utah State with their 23rd overall pick. Drafting Love would have been a clear indication that the Patriots didn’t see a future with Stidham. After all, you draft a quarterback in the first round because you think he might be a franchise player. Instead, the Pats traded out of the spot with the Chargers to add picks in the second and third rounds.

The Green Bay Packers traded up and drafted Love at No. 26, which was a minor surprise considering Aaron Rodgers is 36 years old. With a fifth-year option Love will be in Green Bay when Rodgers enters his 40s. Rodgers is the same age that Brett Favre was when the Packers drafted Rodgers in the first round. That plan worked out perfectly.

Finding a franchise quarterback is one of the hardest tasks in all of sports. Ask the Miami Dolphins about replacing Dan Marino or the Buffalo Bills about replacing Jim Kelly. Look at the Patriots who drafted Tony Eason over Marino in the 1983 draft. That shaped both franchises for decades.

As rounds two and three played out on Friday, only one quarterback was taken with the Philadelphia Eagles drafting Jalen Hurts with the 21st pick in the second round. At that point, the Pats already passed over Hurts in favor of safety Kyle Dugger.

Two quarterbacks were drafted in the fourth round on Day 3 — Jacob Eason (Indianapolis) and James Morgan (New York Jets). The Pats entered Day 2 with three fourth-round picks. Instead, they traded out of the round to trade up for tight end Devin Asiasi in Round 3 and then traded back into the third round to draft tight end Dalton Keene.

In Round 5, the Pats passed over Jake Fromm (drafted by Buffalo) to select kicker Justin Rohrwasser. In the final two rounds, five quarterbacks were taken — Jake Lutton (Jacksonville), Cole McDonald (Tennessee), Ben DiNucci (Dallas), Tommy Stevens (New Orleans) and Nate Stanley (Minnesota).

In the end, every team in the AFC East drafted a quarterback except the one team that lost the greatest quarterback of all-time. It was a bit of a surprise. However, Belichick’s non-action spoke volumes. The Patriots thought Stidham was better than the quarterbacks available to them. in the draft.

Perhaps, the Patriots have the heir to the throne — like Rodgers to Favre. That would be the best-case scenario.

Time will tell.