The Rams are adding another Bulldog to back up their Georgia quarterback.
Los Angeles selected quarterback Stetson Bennett in the fourth round with the 128th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday.
Bennett, a two-time national champion at Georgia, heads west to Los Angeles to back up former No. 1 overall pick and Georgia product Matthew Stafford. Whether he replaces Stafford remains to be seen, but he'll have quite a tutor in his fellow former Bulldog for however long the latter chooses to play.
Bennett is a polarizing prospect because of more than just his on-field performance. He earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2022 and offensive most valuable honors in both the 2021 and 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championships on his way to taking home the sport's most coveted hardware, a national title, in back-to-back seasons.
Bennett drew concerns off the field with a January arrest in Texas for public intoxication.
He has also established a reputation as a notably confident athlete bordering on cocky. That confidence seems to fit what the Rams are looking for, however.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Bennett was Rams general manager Les Snead's favorite quarterback in this class, and he has more than just the Georgia connection to lean on for an explanation. Bennett was often compared to Baker Mayfield during the pre-draft process, both because of their shared assuredness and their style of play. Mayfield found immediate success with the Rams in an otherwise lost season, arriving to take over in the final month of the 2022 campaign and enjoying a bounce-back run of games that was good enough to see him sign a one-year deal with Tampa Bay as Tom Brady's successor with the Buccaneers.
If Bennett can fit into Sean McVay's offense in a manner similar to Mayfield, the pick -- which arrived earlier than most expected -- will have been worth it.
