2023 NFL Draft Odds: Will Stetson Bennett Be Selected?

Can Bennett Join Other Legendary Names?

NFL betting fans are sure to remember that some legendary football players started their collegiate careers as walk-ons, meaning they originally didn’t have an athletic scholarship with the school they attended.

To name three in fairly recent history: Southern Cal linebacker Clay Matthews, Wisconsin pass-rusher JJ Watt and Texas Tech/Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield – all of whom became first-round picks in the NFL draft. Matthews probably will get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday. Watt is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year who retired after the just-completed regular season and is a sure-first first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Mayfield was a walk-on at Texas Tech, eventually transferred to Oklahoma and won the Heisman Trophy before being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. His professional career has been a disappointment so far, but Mayfield is still only 27.

None of those guys or any walk-on in NCAA Football history can hold a candle to Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. What’s his future at the next level? Let’s break down two props:

Odds That Stetson Bennett Will Be Drafted

Bennett was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2019 from Georgia who started his career a walk-on at UGA before transferring to Jones County Junior College. Bennett subsequently transferred back to Georgia and is now a two-time national champion. He was named the offensive MVP of the title game following the 2021 season in a 33-18 win over Alabama, throwing for 224 yards and two scores.

Believe it or not, many UGA fans wanted Bennett to turn pro simply as they wanted more-touted recruits to start under center in the 2022 season. However, Bennett is not considered a good NFL prospect so he returned and led the Dawgs to a 15-0 record and first repeat national championship in the College Football Playoff era. Bennett was named offensive MVP of the title game again, throwing for 304 yards and four scores while rushing for two touchdowns in the historic 65-7 blowout of TCU.

Although Bennett now ranks amongst the Bulldogs’ best, there’s no returning to Athens next season as the 25-year-old Bennett’s eligibility is up. That’s one thing NFL scouts hold against him: His age. Bennett and former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP Lamar Jackson were born in the same year, and Jackson has played five NFL seasons already.

Bennett is also rather small for an NFL QB at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, but his winning pedigree might earn a late-round pick. “People have slept on Stetson Bennett for too long,” Coach Kirby Smart said after the win. “He needs an opportunity to play for a long time at the next level.”

Online sports betting sites are weighing in on Bennett’s odds. That Bennett is not drafted at all is +150, followed by seventh round (+250), fifth round (+300), sixth round (+350), fourth round (+500), third round (+800), second round (+2500) and first (+5000).

That an AFC team selects him is -120 and an NFC club -120. Perhaps the Atlanta Falcons pick the in-state hero as a good PR move and as a potential long-term backup?

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