Danny Etling Reacts To Patriots Drafting Jarrett Stidham

Danny Etling may not get a chance to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster because the team selected Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. New England is expected to carry three quarterbacks on the roster in the 2019 season. Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer have the No.1 and No.2 positions, so Stidham and Etling will have to earn the final spot.

“You can really just focus on yourself,” Etling said when asked about the Patriots’ selection of Stidham in the NFL Draft. “You try to continue to improve on your own skills and just find a role for yourself on the team and try to continue to focus on things that you need to get better at and improve on. If you do that you just want to become the best player you can be.”

Stidham is considered a better option than Etling. But, Etling will probably do anything to make take the spot, and he even took some special teams reps.

“My goals are just to do whatever I can to help this team win no matter what it takes,” he said. “I am trying to find a role for myself and continue to keep striving to improve every single day and get better and better.”

Last preseason Etling was great in the preseason finale against the Giants. He ran for a 86-yard touchdown and completed a 45-yard pass to put the Pats on the 1-yard line in a position for a score. However, he struggled with inconsistencies.

Stidham is a talented quarterback with a lot of physical gifts. He had a decline in his production in 2018 for the Auburn Tigers. The quarterback threw for 2794 yards and 18 touchdowns, five interceptions on a 60.7 completion percentage.

“It’s been a lot of fun finally getting to a spot and being here,” Stidham said of his offseason workout program with the Pats. “It’s a dream come true. It’s been a lot of learning and a lot of fun, and it’s been great to get to know teammates, coaches, the administration, kind of everyone. It’s been great so far.”