New England Patriots: Top 5 standouts so far this preseason

3. Jarrett Stidham

New England Patriots fans haven’t been this excited about the backup quarterback since the days of Jimmy Garoppolo.

That’s exactly who fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham is being compared to after two preseason games of impressive football.

While Stidham did make a couple of passes that could’ve had disastrous results, he did lead an impressive 99-yard dive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Damoun Patterson to put the team ahead for good.

Overall, Stidham was 14 of 19 for 193 yards passing and a touchdown in the game after a preseason debut in which he went 14 of 24 for 179 yards and a touchdown.  In all, his overall composure and ability to make plays with his arm and legs has been impressive so far in his young career.

As he stated in his postgame conference Saturday night, comfort is playing a role in his success through two preseason games.

"“Again, just the more I’m around these guys in the meeting room with Josh (McDaniels), and Mick (Lombardi), and Tom (Brady), and Brian (Hoyer), just learning as much as I can” Stidham said.  “You know, we have a bunch of really good players on this team, so that makes my job a lot easier.  Just getting the ball to those guys, and those guys up front did a great job, so I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and just continue to grow.”"

If he continues to grow and show more promise on the field during the next two preseason games, the New England Patriots may have something.  Perhaps the reason why Tom Brady only got essentially a one-year deal.