The Los Angeles Rams had a successful 2023 NFL Draft, trading back several times and addressing every major need on the roster.
Starting with 11 selections, the Rams ultimately ended up making 14 total picks. The split between offense and defense was pretty even, though they did make a somewhat surprising pick when they took Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett No. 128 overall.
Backup quarterback was arguably on the lower end of the priority list for Los Angeles, but it made sense as they only had Matthew Stafford on the roster at draft time. Regardless of the situation, the Rams got a solid backup signal caller in Bennett who’s ready to learn the game at the professional level, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I’m a football player. I enjoy playing football,” Bennett said. “I love my teammates. I love the locker room. I love trying to execute, I love competing against the best, and it helps when you compete against the best on your team, and I think I we do. Not that I know that much, but obviously if you won a Super Bowl in the past few years here, you know what you’re doing. So I’m excited to go learn. Yeah, I mean, it is an honor that those coaches and GM thought enough of me to pick me, and now it’s my job to go get better every day.”
Bennett learned early on just how well-operated Los Angeles is and acknowledged he’s going to have plenty of things to take notes on:
“Throughout the whole journey, I was trying to put my best foot forward,” Bennett said. “This the NFL, really any team any organization, they’re established. They are who they are, and they’re the best of the best. And so just trying to pick up little nuggets, how they talked about things, why does it look so easy when it’s not because I know it’s not, but why does it look so easy for the best to do it. But yeah, just kind of how they have a grasp on – especially the offensive side, don’t really talk too much about the defense – but just a grasp and an understanding of offensive football and just that I was excited if I got to go work with them.”
While it might have been a reach to take Bennett where they did, the Rams at least know they’ve got a clear answer when it comes to Stafford’s backup. Sean McVay has an eye for evaluating quarterbacks, so perhaps Bennett will turn into a worthwhile player down the road.
He certainly has a college pedigree worthwhile of being drafted having led Georgia to back-to-back National Championships the last two years.
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