Urban Meyer Says Belichick, Patriots Will Make Jarrett Stidham 'A Good Player'

Former college football coach Urban Meyer believes Jarrett Stidham will play well for the New England Patriots.

During an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Meyer said he believes New England's coaching staff will get the most out of Stidham.

"You put him with Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, that system... I can't say he's going to be the next Tom Brady, but I'm sure he'll have a great [year]," he said. "[Belichick] did it with Matt Cassel. He did it obviously with Tom Brady and [Jimmy Garoppolo]. They're gonna make that quarterback a good player."

As of now, it appears Stidham is the front-runner to be New England's starting quarterback after Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency and the team didn't sign a replacement in free agency or draft a quarterback. 

The team did sign Brian Hoyer—and it's possible they could still add another free agent at the position—but for now, the unproven Stidham is in the driver's seat. 

The 23-year-old threw all of four passes in his 2019 rookie season, completing two of them for 14 yards while also throwing an interception. So in the past year, Stidham went from being the starter at Auburn to being a fourth-round pick of the Patriots, serving as Brady's backup and now being in line to follow up the most decorated quarterback in NFL history.

One does not simply replace Brady, who won six titles in New England across his two decades with the organization. It would be one thing to try with a proven veteran or a high-profile draft pick. But doing so with an unproven, second-year quarterback puts a lot of pressure on Stidham, Belichick and McDaniels to prove they've made the right choice. 

Granted, Brady himself went from being a sixth-round pick and Drew Bledsoe's backup to a Super Bowl champion in his second year, never looking back from there. It seems unlikely lightning will strike twice, but a talented Patriots team doesn't need Stidham to be the next Brady given their talent on defense.

They just need him to be a competent game manager. Meyer thinks he's up to the task. Time will tell.