The New England Patriots have quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham on their roster. Who is the better choice to start Week 1?
Jarrett Stidham
Stidham has had an impressive football journey from high school to the NFL. Stidham was the No. 1 high school quarterback in Texas with 8,567 passing yards, 2,787 rushing yards, and 158 total touchdowns. He also rushed for a total of 969 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Stidham went to Baylor University as a freshman in college and led the team efficiently. However, he broke a bone in his ankle in a game against Oklahoma State, ending his career at Baylor.
Stidham joined Auburn after some time and that was when he took off. Stidham completed 470 of 739 total passes, throwing for 5,952 total yards and 36 touchdowns. He also ran for seven touchdowns. Stidham even led his team to a win at the Iron Bowl.
In the 2019 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots picked Stidham in the fourth round with the 133rd overall pick.
In the 2019 NFL preseason, he played in all four games, completing a total of 61 passes while throwing a total of 731 yards and four touchdowns. Stidham also threw one interception and rushed a total of 88 yards.
Brian Hoyer
Over Hoyer’s 11-year career, he has been with many different teams. Hoyer spent time with the Patriots for five of those years, the most recent being 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts where he played in four games. Hoyer threw a total of 372 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions last season.
In his whole career, Hoyer has played in 69 games, throwing for 10,274 yards, 52 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions alongg the way.
Hoyer has spent a lot of his career backing up, helping, and learning from other starting quarterbacks, such as Tom Brady.
Overall
Rob Ninkovich said that he believes Brian Hoyer will be the Patriots’ starting quarterback in Week 1. There are reasons why Hoyer would start the first game, but there are also reasons why he wouldn’t.
Hoyer has more experience and would most likely be more comfortable starting the first game. He has been with the Patriots for years, knows the playbook better and is more comfortable with the schemes.
Stidham is the draft pick that the Patriots made in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Je has great potential and skill and starting him in the first game should be fine for the newcomer.
It may come down to each player’s performances in the preseason games. If Stidham plays well and confidently in the preseason games, he will most likely start Week 1.
