Stetson Bennett’s arrival at OTAs came as a surprise to some after the two-time national championship-winning quarterback stepped away from football as a rookie to deal with personal issues related to his mental health. However, that seems to be a thing of the past and the 26-year-old looks to be firmly focused on football.
No one is saying Bennett will somehow beat out Matthew Stafford for the starting job because that absolutely isn’t happening, but when you consider that Stafford’s on the back end of his career and Bennett is only in the second year of his rookie deal, things are lining up nicely for the former Georgia Bulldog.
Make no mistake, this is not the first time Bennett has battled adversity and he does have an excellent track record of winning. In college, Bennett went toe-to-toe with C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Jayden Daniels, and Henden Hooker among others, and came out victorious against all of them.
Sure, Bennett had a loaded roster at Georgia, but so did Stafford and a bunch of other Georgia QBs, yet he was the one to win the big game. And he did so twice. He did so with solid fundamentals, excellent pre-snap reads, and sneaky speed when he decided to run the ball.
Bennett, unlike most QBs coming out of college, is able to make plays in shotgun and under center. In fact, when Bennett is under center, he is absolutely deadly off of play action. His footwork is flawless, his steps are short and concise, he understands ball placement and has shown the ability to hit his receivers on the back shoulder.
Bennett does what a lot of QBs fail to do. That’s be a point guard and distribute the football in ways that allow his playmakers to do what they’re supposed to do: make plays.
Bennett does have two major points of improvement as he continues on his journey. Limiting turnovers and improving his arm strength have to be top priorities for the player and the team, two things that are very coachable.
I get a bit of Drew Brees vibes from him and if he keeps it up, Bennett could be the heir apparent in the Rams’ offense. Whose house? It might be Stetson Bennett’s at some point down the road.