Stetson Bennett is one of the biggest winners following Rams draft

Stetson Bennett has opportunity to show the team he’s worth keeping around

Depending on who you are and how long you believe Matthew Stafford can continue playing at a high level, it was a mild surprise that the Los Angeles Rams didn’t dip into the quarterback pool during the 2024 NFL Draft. One contributing factor in LA not coming away with a QB was the fact that six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, and the Rams were much further down the board at #19. The next signal caller to be selected was Spencer Rattler in the mid-fifth round who fell to the New Orleans Saints.

Now entrenched as LA’s third quarterback behind Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo is second-year passer Stetson Bennett, who recently re-joined the team after missing nearly the entirety of his rookie season with personal matters. Bennett emerges from the draft as one of the biggest individual winners, as he’ll get an opportunity in training camp and the preseason to show that he’s worth rostering as QB#3 and that he deserves to be kept around long-term.

Also working in Bennett’s favor is the fact that Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the year for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy. Now, if the Rams need to dip into their backup quarterback pool within the first two games of the season, things are probably looking bleak for Los Angeles at that point. Still, the second-string position behind an age 36 player is of the upmost importance. It’s good to see the Rams finally invest in the backup position after learning hard lessons with Brett Rypien amidst Bennett’s absence last year.

Will Stetson Bennett prove to the Rams that he’s worth keeping around for 2024 and beyond? While at this point he’d be lucky to carve out a role as a long-term backup, there’s still some level of potential that he could be the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford should the opportunity present itself.

Let’s take a look at some other winners and losers after the dust settled on LA’s 2024 draft class:

Winners

Stetson Bennett, QB

Derion Kendrick, Cobie Durant, Tre Tomlinson; CB

LA not drafting a corner allows these players to prove their worth behind what could be a much-improved and more consistent pass rush. While Darious Williams and Tre Tomlinson are solid additions, can the team trust both of these players to start 17 games?

Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen; TE

Not landing Brock Bowers via a trade up in the first round does benefit certain players on an individual level.

Losers

Kyren Williams, Zach Evans; RB

Who’s to say that Blake Corum was drafted to be the backup running back to Kyren Williams? We could either see the backs split duties, who has been somewhat rare in Sean McVay’s offense, or Corum could even push for a lead role.

Zach Evans has fallen out of favor and no longer seems like a scheme fit in LA.

Logan Bruss, AJ Arcuri, Warren McClendon; OL

Are these draft selections from previous years along the offensive line still schematic fits after McVay pivoted to a gap-based running scheme, similar to Evans at RB? KT Leveston, picked in the seventh round, brings a much different body type to the roster than these three players present.

Nick Hampton, Ochaun Mathis, Michael Hoecht; OLB

If the Rams would have just taken Jared Verse in the first round alone, then there would probably be room for all of these players on the depth chart and roster; however, Los Angeles also dipped back into the edge rusher pool in the fifth round with Brennan Jackson. That probably pushes one of last year’s draft picks or Michael Hoecht out of the rotation and maybe off the team, and a way-too-early look at the 53-man roster confirms such.