Former NFL coach believes in Stetson Bennett as draft prospect
Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is one of the most interesting prospects in the NFL Draft. On one hand, he’s a proven winner. Bennett helped guide the Bulldogs to back to back National Championships in 2021 and 2022, the program’s first titles since the 1980 season. On the other, there’s a reason he was a walk-on when he came to college, and many of those reasons make him a less desirable pro prospect too.
Longtime NFL coach Herm Edwards falls into the category of those that see the things Bennett brings to the table, both on and off the field. To him, the fact that he was a walk-on and has proven that he’s willing to work hard to accomplish something actually plays in his favor.
“You want him on your team,” Edwards said during a recent interview on The George Plaster Show. “I think somebody is going to draft Stetson Bennett, they’re going to draft him as a backup and whoever the starter is, he’s going to push that guy every day. He will be a team favorite. All the players will like him, he’ll come in there with energy, he’ll come in to practice every day with something to prove, and that’s what you want. If you put him in a game, he’ll be fine. He’ll be okay. I like the guy, I do. Here again, I don’t know if he’s your starter, but to come in as a backup guy, your starter goes down, he hits some rough spots, he’s the kind of guy you want. He’s the gym rat guy. He’s the guy that, every day he pulls into the parking lot, he’s got something to prove. He’s going to play his whole career that way.”
Bennett became the first Georgia quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season in 2022. He completed 310 of his 454 attempts (68.3%) for 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns, also added another 205 yards and 10 scores on the ground. Bennett was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, winner of the Burlsworth Award as the nation’s top former walk-on and took home the Manning Award after the National Championship, given to the top quarterback in the country taking into consideration postseason performance. Bennett earned MVP honors in each of Georgia’s three postseason wins: the SEC Championship Game, College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and, of course, the National Championship Game.
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Despite all that success, Bennett is still only considered to be a likely late-round selection. He isn’t in the same conversation as the likes of Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson or Will Levis – all four of whom (plus Hendon Hooker) Bennett beat head to head during the 2022 calendar year. He’s knocked for his size and arm strength, among other traits. Bennett isn’t letting that knock his confidence down though.
“It’s better football. You gotta play clean. It will be a new playbook. That will probably be the biggest thing right off the bat. New playbook, new verbiage. And then it’s the physical things. It’s a man’s league. Being able to avoid tackles, throw on time, accuracy,” Bennett said after his workout at Georgia’s Pro Day earlier this month. “At the end of the day when you boil it down, who’s the best football player. I know people get caught up on the combine stuff but football starts in August. That’s when we play football. It’s proven every day that you can be consistent so the coaches can trust you. And then being good enough to play whenever that comes.”
