Rams Rookie Stetson Bennett: QB2?
The NFL community wasn't surprised the Los Angeles Rams selected a quarterback for the future in the 2023 NFL Draft as starting quarterback Matthew Stafford began to show his age (35) and struggled when healthy last season. But they were startled when the Rams chose Georgia's Stetson Bennett with the 128th overall pick in the fourth round because he was expected to go a round or two later.
Rams coach Sean McVay answered the questions about drafting the two-time National Champion early.
"The guy is a winner. He's a competitor. He's been able to overcome some different things. He's got a lot of athleticism. He's got a natural stroke," McVay said. "I thought they did such a great job at Georgia, which makes it a little bit easier to eval, with a lot of the concepts you are going to ask guys to try to activate and execute. He'll get to learn under a great former UGA Bulldog, Super Bowl champ Matthew Stafford".
Bennett walked onto the UGA football team and split some snaps with then-starting quarterback J.T. Daniels in 2021. But after a few games, he became the starter. Bennett won the CFP National Championship, throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns, but UGA's defense was the headlines.
Bennett emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in college football in 2022 as the dual-threat threw for 4,128 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushed for 10 more scores. The 25-year-old was fourth in Heisman Voting, but won the MVP award in Georgia's dominant 65-7 National Championship victory over TCU (by far the largest margin of victory in College Football Playoff history).
Despite all the accolades, Georgia's defense continued to make all of the headlines as every defensive starter from the 2021 season (and most from the 2022 season) had been drafted over the past two years. Although this isn't necessarily an issue for him, he'll have another obstacle, this time in the NFL.
Bennett will battle Brett Rypien for the backup quarterback spot during training camp. However, Stafford said Bennett's already made good progress this offseason.
“Stetson’s done a nice job,” Stafford said at the end of OTAs. “Obviously, It’s a lot to process and a lot to learn for a young guy. He’s done a nice job. He’s got great athleticism, throws it really well. He does a lot of things really well, so I’m happy for him”.
Rypien has been on the bench throughout his three-year career, but when on the field, he's thrown four touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight games (three starts).
If the former walk-on continues to impress Stafford and McVay, he'll very likely earn the No. 2 spot.
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