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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
J.C. Shelton

Mel Kiper Jr. talks Stetson Bennett’s NFL draft profile: ‘This guy wins games’

Stetson Bennett has forced conversations around his NFL potential after leading Georgia football to back-to-back national championships.

NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. spoke on Bennett’s draft profile on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday.

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“Nobody can really give you any answer on Stetson Bennett other than, ‘Bryce Young is going to go in the top 5, where’s Stetson Bennett going to fall?’ This guy wins games; he’s a gutty competitor. He had guys leaving that program after last year, this year no fall back. He didn’t have all the pieces they had in 2021 this season. Yet he still leads his team to a national title.”

Bennett racked up four College Football Playoff MVP trophies and a Heisman finalist nod along with two national titles over the last two seasons.

“He’ll draw comparisons to Drew Brees — throw that out, doesn’t mean anything. Because we’re always going to look at that six foot quarterback and say ‘If he’s accurate, he’s Drew Brees. So for me, Jake Haener [Fresno State], Stetson Bennett are in that next tier of quarterbacks.”

Bennett’s numbers over the last two seasons are hard to ignore.

  • 2021 – 2,862 yards passing (64% completion) with a 15.5 yard average and 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions; 56 carries for 259 yards and one score on the ground.
  • 2022 – 4,127 yards passing (68% completion) with a 13.3 yard average and 27 touchdowns to seven interceptions; 57 carries for 205 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Kiper most recently ranked his top-10 quarterbacks in December (before the CFP) and tabbed Bennett at No. 9.

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