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Everyone expected the Rams to take a quarterback in the draft because they only had one on the roster. Few expected them to draft Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett — especially not where they did, in the fourth round.
On Saturday, the Rams’ powers that be explained that they scouted Bennett early in the scouting process. He specifically caught the attention of GM Les Snead as Snead was studying Georgia’s blockers.
“Georgia has a good offensive line, so every time you would go look at SEC defenders, you’d be like, ‘Oh, let’s look at Georgia. It’s the best team. They have a good offensive line and that was interesting,” Snead told reporters. “You just walked away saying ‘Wow, I thought people were saying [Bennett] was just maybe, whatever kind of type QB is running the game.’ But what you did was you just said to yourself, ‘Whoa, wait a minute. Watch this guy move. Watch it save time. Watch him anticipate a few throws. And you just walk away thinking, ‘Wow, he was a weapon for Georgia.’ And I made a joke internally that he’s got a bad PR because his image maybe not, let’s call him a talented player, was probably a little off.
Coach Sean McVay agreed.
“Because of the experience and how he came to be Georgia’s starter, it’s a bit unconventional and it wasn’t the five-star road, but I think it undercut the athleticism, the ability to create off-schedule,” McVay said. journalists. “He’s a natural football pitcher. He can play with great anticipation, throw the ball with precision, play with timing. I think [former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd] Monken, who is now with the Ravens, they did a great job where it’s an easier assessment because you can see a lot of concepts that you might ask him to execute.
“And he’s surrounded by great players, but he raised those guys. He sees the court well. You can pick up on the processing of things quickly and he’s a much better athlete than people give him credit for. And I think that there’s an edge in him that’s positive you want competitors that have stuff going for him that things don’t always go well they’re unfazed and they can kind of move on and be able to move on reset.” And credit to Les and really [quarterbacks coach] Zac Robinson and [offensive coordinator] Mike LaFleur and really his scouting team where they had identified Stetson early in the process and we wanted to have a UGA quarterback room all in Athens and that’s what we have right now.
McVay said the Rams are “thrilled” to have a young quarterback the Rams can now mold as a backup, and possibly a future starter.
“What a great opportunity for him to come and learn from a perennial All-Pro, a great football player who made it to a high level,” McVay said, referring to Matthew Stafford. “And it’s not exclusive to the big things you see Matthew doing on Sunday, but the level of preparation and professionalism that exists throughout the week. His pace and routine, the way he seamlessly interacts and natural with the guys. I think there’s going to be a lot of good Stetson can see what it’s 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 whatever it ends up working out, but Stetson is a good football player and we’re happy to work with him.
Stafford is 35 years old. And it’s had a lot of wear and tear. We don’t know how long it will go. Maybe when the time comes for Stafford to step down, Stetson will be ready to step in.
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