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LOS ANGELES -- As the Los Angeles Rams’ fourth-round pick got closer on Saturday, several coaches in the team’s San Fernando Valley draft house started pacing around the first floor. Los Angeles had a target after trading into the round on Friday, and it was clear several people in the draft house believed the player may not be there at No. 128 overall. But several minutes before it was announced on television, there were cheers and sighs of relief as the Rams made their pick: Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. There were rumors Friday that the Rams were interested in another quarterback prospect, one who sat in the green room in Kansas City during the first round without being picked. The Rams, though, were not focused on Will Levis, who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the 33rd pick, and had planned to wait until Day 3 of the draft to add a quarterback. And although they were hoping to draft a quarterback, they weren’t necessarily looking for Stafford’s eventual replacement. Instead, they wanted a quarterback they felt confident would help them compete if Stafford could not play -- something they did not have until signing Baker Mayfield in December for the final five games of the season. While the Rams believe Stafford is healthy, they can’t deny the importance of having a solid backup at this point in the starter’s career. Stafford played nine games last season, ending up in concussion protocol twice and finishing the season on injured reserve with a spinal cord contusion. The team believes they found that quarterback in Bennett, who finished his Georgia career with a 29-3 record as a starter and back-to-back national championships to end his college career. His final game for the Bulldogs was a blowout win in the College Football Playoff championship against TCU at the Rams’ home field: SoFi Stadium. Rams general manager Les Snead watched a lot of Georgia film in the draft buildup. While the Bulldogs' defense has been the star of the show, Snead was a big fan of the offense. So much so, the Rams selected Bulldogs right tackle Warren McClendon in the fifth round. “You just come away going, ‘Wow, I thought people said that guy was just [a] kind of manage-the-game-type QB,’” Snead said of Bennett. “But what you did is you just go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute. Look at that guy move. Look at him buy some time. Look at him anticipate some throws.’ And just you come away thinking, ‘Wow, he was a weapon for Georgia.’” Rams director of draft management J.W. Jordan said as he watched Bennett, it was clear that he was “more than just a cog in the wheel.” “He's driving the bus,” Jordan said. “... He's accurate, tough as nails [and] highly, highly competitive.” Rams coach Sean McVay said because of Bennett’s journey and the “unconventional” way he became the starter at Georgia -- starting as a walk-on, transferring to a junior college and then returning to the Bulldogs on scholarship -- the head coach thinks “people take for granted that this guy is just a really good football player.”
“It minimized the athleticism, the ability to create off-schedule,” McVay said. “He's a natural thrower of the football. He can play with great anticipation, throws the ball with accuracy, plays within the timing. “And he's around great players, but he elevated those guys. He sees the field well. You can seize processing things quickly and he's a lot better athlete than people give him credit for.” McVay also commended Bennett for having “an edge to him that’s a positive.” “You want some competitors that have some stuff to him that things don't always go well, they're unfazed and they can kind of move on and be able to reset themselves," McVay said. "And credit to Les and really [quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator] Zac Robinson and [offensive coordinator] Mike LaFleur and really his scouting staff where they had identified Stetson early in the process. “And we wanted to have an all-Athens UGA quarterback room and that's what we've got right now,” he added, “so it was all good.” Stafford was onsite to watch Georgia clobber TCU for its second straight national championship and was complimentary of Bennett during an appearance on ESPN’s pregame coverage, saying, “His ability to lead this team is pretty special.” Bennett said he sees the benefit of working alongside Stafford, who played at Georgia from 2006-08. “What a great opportunity for him to come in and learn from a perennial All-Pro, a great football player who's been doing it at a high level,” McVay said. “And it's not exclusive to just the great things you see Matthew [Stafford] do on Sundays, but the level of preparation and professionalism that exists throughout the course of the week. His rhythm and routine, the way that he just seamlessly, naturally interacts with guys. “Stetson's a good football player and we're excited to get to work with him.”
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