While Les Snead was studying Georgia OL, QB Stetson Bennett stood out

While Rams G.M. Les Snead was studying Georgia offensive linemen, QB Stetson Bennett stood out


[profootballtalk.nbcsports.com]

Posted by Mike Florio on April 29, 2023

Everyone expected the Rams to take a quarterback in the draft, since they only had one on the roster. Few expected them to draft Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett — especially not where they did, in round four.

On Saturday, the Rams powers-that-be explained that they spotted Bennett early in the scouting process. He specifically caught G.M. Les Snead’s attention while Snead was studying Georgia’s blockers.

“Georgia has got a good offensive line so anytime you’d go to watch defenders in the SEC you’d go, ‘Oh, let’s watch Georgia. They’re the best team. They’ve got a good offensive line and it was interesting,'” Snead told reporters. “You just come away going, ‘Wow, I thought people said [Bennett] was just maybe, whatever kind of manage-the-game-type QB.’ But what you did is you just go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute. Look at that guy move. Look at him buy some time. Look at him anticipate some throws.’ And just you come away thinking, ‘Wow, he was a weapon for Georgia.’ And I made a joke internally that he’s got a bad P.R. agent because his image is not maybe being, let’s call it a talented player, was probably a little false.”

Coach Sean McVay agreed.

“Because of the background and the way that he became the starter at Georgia is a little bit unconventional and it wasn’t the five-star route, but I think it minimized the athleticism, the ability to create off-schedule,” McVay told reporters. “He’s a natural thrower of the football. He can play with great anticipation, throws the ball with accuracy, plays within the timing. I think [former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd] Monken, who’s now with the Ravens, they did a great job where it’s an easier eval because you can see a lot of the concepts that maybe you would ask him to execute.

“And he’s around great players, but he elevated those guys. He sees the field well. You can seize processing things quickly and he’s a lot better athlete than people give him credit for. And I think there’s an edge to him that’s a positive. You want some competitors that have some stuff to him that things don’t always go well, they’re unfazed and they can kind of move on and be able to reset themselves. “And credit to Les and really [quarterbacks coach] Zac Robinson and [offensive coordinator] Mike LaFleur and really his scouting staff where they had identified Stetson early in the process and we wanted to have an all-Athens UGA quarterback room and that’s what we’ve got right now.”

McVay said the Rams are “excited” about having a young quarterback the Rams can now mold as a backup, and possibly as a future starter.

“What a great opportunity for him to come in and learn from a perennial All-Pro, a great football player who’s been doing it at a high level,” McVay said, referring to Matthew Stafford. “And it’s not exclusive to just the great things you see Matthew do on Sundays, but the level of preparation and professionalism that exists throughout the course of the week. His rhythm and routine, the way that he just seamlessly, naturally interacts with guys. I think there’ll be a lot of good things that Stetson will be able to see what it looks like. . . . [We’re excited about being able to work with him and then we’ll figure out how we add because you still want to be able to have more than two. And whether that’s through [underdrafted free agency] or however that ends up working out, but Stetson’s a good football player and we’re excited to get to work with him.”

Stafford is 35. And he’s had plenty of wear and tear. It’s unclear how much longer he’ll go. Maybe, when it’s time for Stafford to step aside, Stetson will be ready to step in.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2023 04:57PM by RamBill.