Bill Belichick Provides Progress Report on Patriots Rookie QB Jarrett Stidham

The New England Patriots surely turned a few heads when they selected Auburn Tigers quarterback Jarrett Stidham with a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The former 5-star prospect has talent, but imagining anyone other than Tom Brady taking meaningful snaps for the Pats is downright hard to conceive of.

Even so, there needs to be a succession plan. And when asked during a Friday conference call about Stidham's progress, head coach Bill Belichick was -- surprise! -- pretty darn blunt.

"Jarrett’s pocket presence is good. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. Certainly, when you’re comparing him to the other two quarterbacks on our roster, guys who have played a lot of football in this league, it’s quite a gap in experience," Belichick said, drawing a fine line between Stidham and not just Brady, but also Brian Hoyer.

"I’m sure those are things that Jarrett will get better at," Belichick continued. [It's] probably about what you would think it would be given the difference in experience that you’re comparing him to."

Given how new everything must feel in Josh McDaniels' offensive system, Stidham is chugging along just as he should. And for a team that can't count on TB12 playing touchdowns into his 50s, that's good news.