Getty Image / Michael Hickey
In the few weeks since the NFL Combine, there has been some big news for this year’s quarterback class.
The most important development was obviously the Panthers trading up for the top pick with the expectation that they will be drafting CJ Stroud.
However, that hasn’t been the only notable development for the top QBs in this year’s draft.
The idea that one QB-needy team with a top 5 pick could actually end up moving back and taking Hendon Hooker has been gaining steam.
Now it looks like there is another former SEC quarterback that is getting a surprising amount of interest ahead of the draft.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, former Georgia QB Stetson Bennett has had private visits or workouts with 10 different NFL teams.
One of the busiest NFL Draft prospects since the combine: Georgia QB Stetson Bennett, whose schedule so far includes private visits and/or workouts with 10 teams, per sources. Bennett won consecutive national titles with the Bulldogs and was a Heisman finalist last season.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2023
Bennett doesn’t exactly fit the mold for the type of player that you would usually expect to see get this kind of pre-draft attention.
Bennett is old for a rookie. He is just a few months younger than Kyler Murray, who has already played in the NFL for 4 years. There were 10 teams last year who regularly started quarterbacks that were younger than Bennett.
In spite of how late he’s leaving college, Bennett really only has one year of producing top tier numbers at Georgia.
He didn’t become the starter until a few games into his junior season. He threw for just 1179 yards and 8 touchdowns that season and completed only 55.5% of his pass attempts.
The following year he spent all year as a starter and had better numbers, but still wasn’t of the best quarterbacks in college football. In 14 games, he threw for 2862 yards and 29 touchdowns on the way to a national title.
His senior season was by far the best of his career. His completion percentage went up to 68.1% and he threw for 4128 yards while winning another title.
Bennett proved over the past couple of years that he’s a winner, but you wouldn’t expect to see an older quarterback who broke out so late in his college career to be getting this kind of attention from NFL teams.