Stetson Bennett had a fantastic collegiate career at Georgia. He led the Bulldogs to two straight national championships with steady leadership, savvy use of his talented supporting cast and better arm and legs than you might think by looking at Bennett.
Yet in 2023 NFL draft projections, Bennett is rarely spotted above the sixth round — if at all. More projections than not have Bennett going undrafted.
New 2-round projections 2 weeks out from the 2023 NFL draft
There are a variety of factors for that. Some are tangible and legitimate detractions. Bennett is already 25, a few weeks older than Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker. He stands just 5-11 and wears his 192 pounds more like a weekend warrior than a full-time athlete.
Then there are the tougher factors to see. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, quoting anonymous NFL sources in a very informative piece this week, pulled this quote from an NFC exec,
Bennett’s size (5-11, 192 pounds) is bound to be a concern for some teams. And many interviewed have non-football concerns about Bennett, who was arrested for public intoxication on Jan. 29 and did not receive universally high marks on combine interviews. Said an NFC exec: “To me, he’s clearly better than those other guys [in this tier]. He does some good stuff. But he might go undrafted. His pre-draft has not been good and there are questions about whether he’ll be the pro that you need out of a backup QB.”
It all shapes up poorly for Bennett at the NFL level in terms of his value as a prospect. Measurable attributes and potential upside matter far more to team GMs than Bennett’s 29-1 record the last two years as a starter. His 66 touchdowns against 21 career interceptions don’t mean as much as the arrest, which happened during Senior Bowl week — an event where he declined to participate to try and prove himself.
Fans, especially those with strong college football leanings, often scoff at the NFL’s relatively lowly perception of proven collegiate winners like Bennett. It harkens back to Kellen Moore at Boise State, or Craig Krenzel from Ohio State a couple of decades ago.
College wins mean very little in the eyes of most NFL teams. Winning in college is better than losing, but it’s not something that can trump physical limitations or off-field concerns.
Going undrafted, as I expect will happen with Bennett, shouldn’t tarnish his legacy as one of the most successful collegiate quarterbacks of all time. It’s a different game than the one he’s attempting to play in next.
