"A lot of mistakes."

That's how Jarrett Stidham summed up his performance in four preseason games. But not everyone agrees with the Patriots rookie quarterback.

Take one NFL scout, who marveled at how the fourth-round pick has looked thus far while also repeating a refrain that many other NFL players, coaches, scouts, and fans have asked about the Patriots over the past two decades.

"How the f--k do they always do this? Kid falls right into their laps and looks like the second coming," the scout told Bleacher Report. "It's like Bill [Belichick] and Josh [McDaniels] undid all the damage Auburn did to him."

After playing behind a mediocre-at-best offensive line at Auburn last year, Stidham has seized the opportunity to replace Brian Hoyer as Tom Brady's backup in 2019. He finished second in the NFL in passing yards in preseason play, completing 61-of-90 passes for 731 yards with four touchdowns and only one interception, demonstrating command of the play book and developing chemistry with his receivers.

"I think whatever decision is made, whatever my role is on this team, that's what I'm going to do," Stidham said when asked if he would be comfortable as the Pats' No. 2 QB this season. "Whatever it is, I'm going to continue to work as hard as I possibly can to do that and to help the team in whatever way I can, so that's kind of how I'm looking at it."

And while it's way too early to anoint Stidham as the "second coming," Patriots fans are hoping that the team once again struck gold on an unheralded quarterback taken in the late rounds of the draft.

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