Stetson Bennett facing another uphill fight in NFL based on experts' expectations

The NFL Draft is all about building a team for future success, and in many cases that starts with the quarterback. Teams are eager to jump to the top of the draft to get their guy, however, as has been demonstrated time and time again, good players can come from deeper down on draft boards. That’s what a team could be getting in Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett.

Bennett threw for 4,127 yards this past season with 27 touchdowns. He added another 10 scores and 205 yards on the ground on his way to winning the Manning Award as the nation’s top quarterback – including postseason play. He was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and MVP of each of Georgia’s three postseason wins (SEC Championship Game, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and National Championship Game) as the Blackshear, Ga. native combined for 976 yards and 11 touchdowns on 64-of-88 (72.7%) passing. Still, teams see him as likely a Day Three pick based on the same traits that made him a walk-on coming out of high school, JUCO-bound after one season and expected to be a career backup (if that) upon his return to Georgia on scholarship.

Brock Purdy’s improbable journey for Mr. Irrelevant in last year’s draft to NFC Championship Game starter for the San Francisco 49ers gives guys like Bennett hope. There’s obviously the Tom Brady story of being taken in the sixth round and going on to win seven Super Bowls. However, when asked for a comparison, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah wasn’t willing to go quite that far projecting Bennett’s career path.

“With Stetson, it’s interesting. Maybe a different body type but you’re looking at maybe a little bit skinnier and faster version of Colt McCoy. That’d be a comparison for me,” Jeremiah said on Thursday, speaking with reporters a week before the start of the draft. “Colt won in college, he could run, he could move, he just found a way to make winning plays even though he didn’t fit all the specs you were looking for. Coming from a true blue blood program as well. That would be my vision for him, somebody that can start games here and there and is going to give you a really athletic and a good solid backup. Somebody that, if you need to get through three or four games, you wouldn’t feel bad about giving him the keys.”

McCoy, drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, has been a journeyman in the league since his arrival. Playing for five teams in 13 seasons, McCoy has followed up his incredibly successful collegiate career by primarily being a backup. In the last five seasons however, McCoy has started at least one game including three each of the last two years with the Arizona Cardinals. ESPN’s Todd McShay thinks similarly about Bennett as Jeremiah.

“There’s been questions come up about how he carries himself and all sorts of stuff, but this guy is just a winner. You know? Obviously physically he doesn’t have the size and he doesn’t have great arm strength, but he’s mobile and he’s managed every situation and played in the biggest spotlight games,” McShay said. “He has very good touch and timing and accuracy in short to intermediate. To me, I would bring him in as a day three pick, later round, No. 3 and just kind of work with him. Even if it’s practice squad year one, see what he brings to the table in terms of how he helps the starter, the homework that he does, how he works, how involved he wants to be and all of that. If he checks all of those boxes, I could see him developing into a solid backup in the league.”

Bennett believed in his ability coming out of high school. It’s why he passed up on opportunities where he’d have more of a chance than he did walking on at Georgia. Then, after the journey took him to JUCO and back to Georgia on scholarship as a backup, when the Bulldogs’ coaching staff all but tried to run him out of town in 2020, Bennett stayed strong in his self-belief.

Bennett will find out where the next stop is for him with his future in football next week, and no matter what folks are saying about him now – or inevitably after he’s picked – his track record says he’ll be stubborn and continue to fight with a chip on his shoulder for his spot in the sport he loves.