Sean McVay: 'People take for granted' Stetson Bennett's football acumen

The Los Angeles Rams drafted the potential heir apparent to Matthew Stafford in Round 4 of the NFL Draft in the person of Georgia QB Stetson Bennett, a two-time national champion. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bennett was Rams general manager Les Snead's favorite quarterback in the entire draft. When Snead spoke to the media on Sunday, it was clear his perception of Bennett is different than some of the pundits who believe drafting Bennett in the fourth was a reach.

"You just come away going, ‘Wow, I thought people said [Bennett] was just maybe, whatever kind of manage-the-game-type QB.’ But what you did is you just go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute," Snead said. "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 head coach Sean McVay had a similar assessment of Bennett. McVay thinks the former Bulldog is a gamer.

"People take for granted that this guy is just a really good football player," McVay explained, later adding, "[Bennett]'s a natural thrower of the football. He can play with great anticipation, throws the ball with accuracy, plays within the timing."

McVay believes Bennett has a great opportunity to "come in and learn from a perennial All-Pro" in Stafford, who has a seamless and natural level of preparation and professionalism. 

The 5-foot-11, 25-year-old Bennett has already shown great preparation skills during his collegiate career and has been at his best when the lights shine the brightest. According to NFL.com, Bennett had 308.8 passing yards per game with a completion rate of 67.7 percent while going 5-1 over his last six postseason games. In that space, he posted a 19/3 TD/INT ratio.

Bennett joining an organization that recently won a Super Bowl with an outside-of-the-box coach like McVay could ultimately do him wonders. McVay and Snead truly seem to believe in Bennett long-term. The Rams may have had a paltry 5-12 record this past season, but McVay won't accept that being the norm or par for the course and Bennett may wind up being part of the turnaround in Los Angeles. For the time being and at the very least, he will be an intriguing backup to Stafford, who has a history of injuries.