2023 NFL Draft: Two-time national champion Stetson Bennett selected by Rams in fourth round

The Los Angeles Rams are betting Stetson Bennett will prove the doubters wrong in his professional career, much like he did as a college athlete. 

The Rams selected Bennett with the 128th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, making Bennett the seventh quarterback taken in the draft. 

The fourth-round pick enters the NFL after an illustrious college career at the University of Georgia, winning back-to-back national championships and going 29-3 as the starting quarterback. 

2023 NFL DRAFT: STEELERS KICK OFF ROUND 2 WITH LEGACY PICK IN PENN STATE’S JOEY PORTER JR.

“Congrats [Stetson Bennett] !! So excited for you to be a part of the [Los Angeles Rams],” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart posted to Twitter. “You meant so much to this program & I’m thankful for your time in Athens. What a story! You’re going to make a great man, great leader & great person. Dawg Nation loves you. GO DAWGS !!”

Bennett’s story is one that sounds like a movie after he walked on at Georgia, playing one year of junior college football and then returning to Athens to bring two championships to Georgia. 

In January’s national championship game against TCU, Bennett was brilliant, completing 18 of 25 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for two more scores. 

But the past few months have been challenging for Bennett, who was arrested in January for public intoxication. 

“It was a mistake that everybody’s aware of,” Bennett said in March, according to NBC Sports. “I understand why that can’t happen. I’ve talked to coaches about it, talked to GMs. I’ve apologized to my family. That’s who I felt worse about; I felt like I let them down, because no matter where I go now [people are going to know about it]. 

“Even without all this, I’ve got an obligation. I’m the fourth [Stetson Bennett]. You can’t do that if you’re last name is Bennett. I know better.”

Bennett will be behind Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, who played in just nine games last year due to injury.