Stetson Bennett can make it in the NFL.
Now that Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett has won two straight national championships, he’s ready to see what the NFL has for him — and what he can offer the NFL.
Bennett is more confused than most of the 2023 draft quarterbacks. Each class is tiered pretty obviously at each position, and the general impression of Bennett is that if you take him on tape alone, he’s going to be a third-day pick, or a priority free agent. This despite a two-year stretch as the Bulldogs’ full-time starter in which he completed 495 of 742 passes (66.7%) for 6,989 yards (9.4 YPA), 56 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Bennett had also 10 rushing touchdowns in 2022 and 205 yards on 56 attempts.
Kirby Smart, Bennett’s head coach, said after Georgia’s 65-7 thrashing of TCU in the College Football Championship that Bennett deserves a real shot in the NFL.
“When you have a quarterback that can do the protections and check things and know what the defense is doing, yet still beat you with your feet, you’ve got a high-level quarterback,” Smart said. “And people have slept on Stetson Bennett for too long. He needs an opportunity to play for a long time at the next level.”
You’d expect Smart to say nothing less. There are some issues here. Bennett’s pre-combine measurements (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) puts him in unfortunately rare air when it comes to NFL quarterbacks. Even if we bump the measurables up to 6-foot-0 and 200 pounds, there have been just five quarterbacks in the new millennium — Kellen Moore, Thaddeus Lewis, Armanti Edwards, Henry Burris, and Tim Rattay — who have played at all in the league with those heights and weights. The Carolina Panthers Edwards was selected in the third round, 2010 draft. He was made a return man and the San Francisco 49ers selected Rattay in the seventh round of the 2000 draft — he became a decent backup for a few seasons.
None of the other quarterbacks were drafted.
Now, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young’s pre-combine measurements are 6-foot-0 and 194 pounds, and there are undoubtedly NFL teams that will be put off by that particular outlier, no matter how great Young has been. Young is also the consensus first-overall draft pick for 2023. Bennett may be able to take advantage of this.
Then, there’s the age issue. Bennett will turn 26 in October. While NFL quarterbacks are playing at All-Pro level for much longer than ever before, this will still be a debit to the NFL decision-makers. Though it is not uncommon for a drafted quarterback to receive his second contract in his twenties or thirties, this can be a cause for concern. But, as we mentioned, trends in NFL tends to make this less of a problem than ever before.
In Bennett’s case, you have a situation in which all the tangibles will scare teams away, and all the intangibles (leadership, toughness, and an icy calm in the game’s most provocative moments) are off the charts. All you can do that that point is to review the tape and the metrics to get the best possible sense of Stetson Bennett’s NFL potential.
Let’s do just that.
Arm strength vs. arms talent.
(Syndication – The Columbus Dispatch).
In his 2022 season, per Pro Football Focus, Bennett completed 28 of 68 passes of 20 or more air yards for 998 yards, eight touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 90.9. One or both of these favorable factors were key to many of those deep passes: Clean pocket, receivers open downfield, and receivers operating from it.
You can find instances where Bennett stood in the pocket and made deep throws to receivers within tight window. This 30-yard completion takes some time. Kearis Jackson against Mississippi State in Week 11 does qualify. Bennett was under pressure at the middle but still made a great throw to Jackson over there.
Bennett doesn’t possess a laser rocket arms by any means. However, he is able to throw most throws in comfortable circumstances. Where things get weird is when Bennett is rocked off his spot, and he tries to make hero throws he just can’t make. This was an example of a sub-optimal arm punt against Mississippi State.
Tossing the middle.
(Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Any quarterback with Bennett’s height deficiency is going to face questions about his ability to stick in the pocket and make throws over the middle. Sports Info Solutions reported that Bennett completed 66 of 91 passes in 2022 from the pocket over his middle for 874 yard, 338 air yards and six touchdowns. Bennett only completed four passes of 20 yards or more on 10 attempts, for 127 yards and 112 yards, one touchdown, and an 81.3 passer rating.
We’re not dealing with Philip Rivers here. If you want a quarterback who can manufacture big throws over the middle, he’s probably not your guy. However, he can sometimes stand up and deliver even when under pressure. This was evident against Ohio State, where he scored a touchdown. Marcus Rosemy Jacksaint in the middle, defensive tackle Tyleik Wils bearing down on him as a stunt.
This interception against Kentucky in Week 12, though, makes you wonder if he’s even able to see downfield with all the monsters in front of him.
That’s an issue that’s not going to go away. Shorter quarterbacks must develop adaptive strategies to see enough of the field to stick and stay in the NFL, which we’ll get to next.
You can win outside of the pocket.
(Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports).
Bennett has some second-reaction ability that allows him to make plays after the original play fails. He could also thrive in a heavy-boot and boot-action offense as he did at Georgia. Bennett was able to complete 25 of 34 passes in 2022 using play-action and throwing out of the pocket for 403 yards and 222 air yards. He also had a passer rating 132.4.
Dillon Bell’s 20-yard pass to him against Missouri in Week 5 was a tough throw. Bennett had to roll to his left as the pocket fell apart, and throwing against his own momentum (he didn’t have time to re-set), he got the ball right in there. Is it a perfect laser throw or not? It wobbled quite a bit. It got there, however.
Another factor to consider when evaluating Bennett’s NFL potential is his threat as a runner; he is the very definition of the “sneaky-fast” cliché. So, we’ll conclude with that.
He’s always on the move!
(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
Surprised to find out that Bennett ran six runs of at least 10 yards during the 2022 season. He’s not just effectively mobile; this guy can scoot in the right circumstances. Bennett’s longest run in 2022 was this 64-yard touchdown against Auburn in Week 5. If he sees an open lane, and there isn’t an obvious shot play in the passing game, he’ll go for it.
And you’ve probably seen his 21-yard touchdown scoot against TCU. Bennett is deceptively fast.
Bennett isn’t Buddy Garrity.
(Syndication: Online Athens)
We have all seen the memes proclaiming that Bennett’s next step in life is how he’d love to get you into a brand new (or gently used) car.
They’re funny, especially when Spencer Hall authors them, but there can be more to Bennett’s future than car sales at Waycross and Blackshear, and chicken fingers at Raising Cane’s.
In the end, Bennett’s physical limitations will likely have him going as a third-day pick, even after he wows NFL teams in interviews. That’s not a professional death sentence by any means. In the right system — something that allows him to throw on the move and use his mobility to threaten defenses — he could be a spot starter or career backup. I’d love to see him under the tutelage of an Andy Reid, Doug Pederson, or Brian Daboll; a creative playcaller should be able to open Bennett’s head and throw all kinds of cool stuff in there.
Bennett is optimistic and has a career path that’s similar to the one Colt McCoy has followed. The Cleveland Browns took McCoy in the third round of the 2010 draft despite his own size issues (6-foot-1, 212 pounds), and the fact that his arm wasn’t going to blow anybody away. McCoy has been in the league ever since (he had three spot starts for the Arizona Cardinals this season) because he’s smart, he’s adaptable, and he’s managed to maximize the attributes he was given. He was drafted in the third round. Probably, but again — he’s still in the NFL.
Is Stetson Bennett a future pro star? It’s unlikely, but it is possible to be successful at the next level without reaching the Pantheon. The larger point is that Bennett has earned that opportunity, and he’s got enough on the ball to make it interesting along the way.