From Texas to Auburn — and now to New England — Jarrett Stidham's football dream has taken its next step.
Stidham, Auburn's starting quarterback for the past two seasons, was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots on Saturday, becoming the second Auburn player drafted this year after cornerback Jamel Dean was taken by Tampa Bay in the third round Friday.
He becomes the sixth Auburn quarterback taken in the draft in program history and the first since 2010 Heisman winner Cam Newton was chosen No. 1 overall in 2011 by the Panthers.
Stidham will work under the elite tutelage of six-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who is arguably one of the top quarterbacks in the history of the league.
After turning in the second 3,000-yard passing season in program history in 2017, Stidham decided to return to school for his redshirt junior season. His production and draft stock took a step back last season as Auburn's offense plummeted to the lower tier of the SEC, but with five-touchdown performance in a Music City Bowl win and an effective Senior Bowl, NFL Combine and pro day, he climbed back up draft boards as one of the better QBs in this year's class.
Following two seasons in the orange and blue, Stidham ranks third in program history in career completion percentage (63.6), fourth in career completions (470), sixth in career passing yards (5,952) and sixth in career passing touchdowns (36).
His 2017 and 2018 seasons rank No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, in single-season pass yards in Auburn history.
Stidham's 246 completions two seasons ago rank first in Auburn history for a season, while his 224 completions in 2018 rank second.
A former Baylor Bear who committed and transferred to Auburn in 2016, Stidham started all 27 games at QB for the Tigers from 2017-18 with a record of 18-9.
Stidham's four-year contract in New England is expected to be worth approximately $3.1 million with a $626,000 signing bonus, per OverTheCap.com.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
