Stetson Bennett has turned in a productive NFL preseason, leading the NFL in passing yards (512), fifth in passer rating (105.7), first in passing touchdowns (5), and seventh in completion percentage (68.8) through two games. In Week 2 of the preseason, he led a two minute drive to complete a 4th QC and GW drive against the Los Angeles Chargers.
For the Los Angeles Rams, he will inevitably serve as the team’s third string quarterback behind veterans Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo. This begs
the questions though of: 1) could Stetson Bennet be a starting quarterback for another NFL team and 2) what compensation could the Rams receive for Bennett?
The answer to the first question is relatively easy to answer. Let’s look at the NFL starting quarterbacks currently in their respective tiers…
Tier 1 is the NFL’s hierarchy and Stetson Bennett stands 0% chance of winning the starting job on KC, CIN, BUF, WAS, and BAL’s team.
Tier 2 features a pair of Super Bowl winners and three young franchise quarterbacks that are cemented into their role. The only question surrounding them is if they can win it all.
None of the quarterbacks in Tier 3 have won a Super Bowl. But a respectable amount of the population feel strongly that they can get their team there. I still don’t think Stetson Bennett can supplant any of these five starters.
Tier 4 is a pair of quarterbacks whose prime seems to have come and gone. But both franchises seem against the idea of starting young at the quarterback position. While Prescott lacks a clutch factor and Rodgers has aged, both are still supreme to Stetson Bennett.
Tier 5 is finally where Stetson Bennett could begin to challenge an NFL starting quarterback. Drake Maye, Trevor Lawrence, and Michael Penix Jr are more talented but Tua Tagovailoa is a quarterback that has relied on scheme to win. Thanks to Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins have been able to get the most out of Tua Tagovailoa but we’ve seen the games where Tua crumbles (literally).
Tier 6 features four first rounders (three of which are No. 1 overall picks). These quarterbacks are going to be given every chance to prove themselves because of the draft capital used on them. However none of them have shown any remarkable ability so far.
The final tier is a hot mess. Sam Darnold played great for most of 2024 but the way he ended the season made teams question his true potential. Russell Wilson is barely holding onto a job. The New York Jets continue to rotate quarterbacks on a yearly basis. The Cleveland Browns are relying on 40 year old Joe Flacco. Anthony Richardson was benched last year by the Indianapolis Colts. And the New Orleans Saints seem ready to name Tyler Shough QB1 for Week 1. Other than Sam Darnold, Stetson Bennett is capable of competing as the starting quarterback for those five NFL franchises.
Conclusion
Yes, Stetson Bennett is playing against backups and players trying to make an NFL roster. However, he did face off against some starters from the Los Angeles Chargers defense. Not to mention, Bennett is playing behind a second string/third string offensive line and using WR5 and WR6 as his best targeting options. Sean McVay’s offense does afford Bennett can opportunity to thrive but at this point Bennett deserves as much of an opportunity as Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Joe Flacco, Anthony Richardson, and Tyler Shough. An experiment with Stetson Bennett on one of these teams might not last very long because of his limited ceiling but I don’t think the Giants, Jets, Browns, Colts, and Saints are going anywhere with their current options. Bennett could stand to prove his footwork as he has a tendency to open his lead foot; rotating to the left. This leads to two things: 1) the ball having less zip to its intended placement and 2) the direction of the throw being left arm side. In the video on the top right X account below, the defender nearly records a pick six because of this exact issue…
If Stetson Bennett can clean up this issue, I think he can continue to polish his game into a quarterback worthy of starting in the NFL for a franchise one day. It may not be for long… but an opportunity like that is priceless.
