New England Patriots: 3 Players who need to step up in 2020

1. Jarrett Stidham

When it comes to the most important aspect to the New England Patriots during the 2020 NFL season and the player who will need to step up the most is second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

For the first time since 2000, the Patriots will have a new quarterback taking things over under center in Foxborough, and the two most likely options at the position will come down to Stidham or veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Although New England could end up looking on the free agent market to add another quarterback, most notably former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton who could be an intriguing option if healthy, it appears as though the Patriots are very high on Stidham and he could ultimately wind up as the starting quarterback to open the year.

Stidham, who will turn 24 years old in August, broke into the NFL during the 2019 NFL Draft after he was drafted by New England in the fourth round coming out of Auburn. As the backup to Tom Brady in 2019, Stidham appeared in a total of three games during the year while going 2-for-4 with 14 yards passing and one interception.

The storyline this offseason has been who will end up taking things over for New England as it transitions into the future at the quarterback position, but Stidham could get his shot for at least this season to try and prove to Bill Belichick and company that he could be the quarterback of the future.

There are multiple players that will need to step up for the Patriots during the 2020 campaign, but there is arguably no greater need for New England than to have Stidham step up and perform well during the regular season.