New England quarterback Jarrett Stidham appears to be the top QB in New England, but that will be up to Bill Belichick to decide. “Jarrett had a good year last year. He improved a lot. We’ll see where that takes him,” the coach said. Steven Senne/Associated Press
Welcome to the Jarrett Stidham era.
The 2020 NFL Draft is over and the New England Patriots did not select a quarterback to replace Tom Brady. So is it the most logical conclusion to make the successor will be the 2019 fourth-round pick from Auburn?
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.
On Saturday, Belichick was asked if he was showing confidence in Stidham by not selecting another quarterback. 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.
“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.”
Seven rounds went by without the Patriots selecting a quarterback, but did add two undrafted free agents in J’Mar Smith (Louisiana Tech) and Brian Lewerke (Michigan State).
The Patriots had a chance at Jordan Love of Utah State with their 23rd overall pick, but traded out of the spot with the Chargers to add picks in the second and third rounds. Green Bay traded up and drafted Love at No. 26.
In rounds two and three only one quarterback was taken, with the Philadelphia Eagles drafting Jalen Hurts with the 21st pick in the second round.
Two quarterbacks were drafted in the fourth round – Jacob Eason (Indianapolis) and James Morgan (Jets). The Pats instead traded out of the round to trade up for tight end Devin Asiasi in the third round, and then traded back into the third round to draft tight end Dalton Keene.
In Round 5, the New England passed over Jake Fromm (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).
A COUPLE of scouts didn’t like the tape they saw of Brian Lewerke, who along with J’Mar Smith landed in New England as undrafted free agent. Smith wasn’t listed in Brian McGinn’s NFL Draft series in The Athletic, while Lewerke ranked 11th of 12 quarterbacks profiled.
“He’s got some talent but he had a terrible, terrible year,” one scout told McGinn. “He looked good in 2017. Then he had a rough year in 2018 and this year was awful. It’s like he had the yips. He couldn’t make routine throws. It was tough to watch. Can he play better? Yes, but if you have to make a decision right now I’m saying he’s not going to be a good NFL player.”
Lewerke’s sophomore year was easily his best at Michigan State. As a junior and a senior, he threw 25 touchdowns to 24 interceptions and never completed 60% of his passes.
“He got worse each time I saw him,” another scout said. “He looks scared to death back there. I’d take him over (Michigan quarterback Shea) Patterson. He’s a big guy, and he’s mobile. He can run around. The coaches say he’s a terrific person.”
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