Matthew Stafford, 29, isn't an old man by any stretch of the imagination.

But it becomes a little bit more of a reality that the calendar is slowly ticking by when Detroit's newest quarterback, Brad Kaaya, who was drafted by the Lions in the sixth round on Saturday, said via a conference call that he grew up playing with Stafford on the Madden video game, and looked up to him.

"Matt Stafford is a guy I've watch since he was in college," Kaaya said. "I've always been a big fan of him. He's one of those guys that when I was in high school I used to play with him on Madden. He was always one of my favorite guys to watch in the league."

Kaaya said he's watched a lot of film of Stafford in preparation for the NFL, and looks forward to being in the same quarterback room with him and potentially learning from him.

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said it's always good business practice to draft a developmental quarterback in the NFL Draft if not every year, at least every two years.

Last year, it was Michigan's Jake Rudock in the sixth round. This year, Quinn selected Kaaya.

Kaaya comes to Detroit as a developmental prospect hoping to crack the roster behind Stafford and Rudock.

"Pretty much the only thing that's been said is, 'you're getting an opportunity, so just come in and work and put your head down and grind,'" Kaaya said.

He was a three-year starter at Miami, coming out as a junior this year. He completed 62 percent of his passes this past season for 3,532 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

He's a three-year starter in a pro-style offense with some nice physical attributes. He also comes into a good situation in Detroit where he can sit back and learn from an experienced quarterback room.