Sean McVay and the L.A. Rams are digging Stetson Bennett’s ‘swagger’

It’s safe to say Sean McVay knows a ballplayer when he sees one, so when the L.A. Rams coach gushed over Stetson Bennett this week people took notice.

Bennett, the former Georgia star who is in his fourth year in the NFL after being selected in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2023 draft, is making a case for the Rams to carry three quarterbacks after they selected Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 draft to compete for backup duties behind league MVP Matthew Stafford.

“I’ve been really pleased with Stetson Bennett through this first block. He’s playing the position at a high level,” McVay said after Wednesday’s practice.

“Ty hasn’t gotten quite as many reps, but he’s really improved a lot from the spring until now.”

The Rams’ QB situation has drawn attention with Stafford entering his 18th season while managing a degenerative back issue, and former L.A. veteran backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo entering free agency.

Will McVay feel comfortable enough with Bennett — who has yet to take a snap in an NFL game — backing up Stafford on what’s considered a Super Bowl contender?

Bennett’s history at Georgia — a former walk-on turned two-time College Football Playoff championship game MVP — suggests he can rise to the challenge.

If anyone can appreciate a small, mobile quarterback, it’s McVay, who in his high school years led the Marist School in Brookhaven to a state championship.

McVay, like Bennett, was once an undersized quarterback who rose to stardom, earning the Georgia 4A Offensive Player of the Year Award while becoming the first player in the War Eagles’ history to have 1,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in consecutive seasons.

And now it’s Bennett looking to make the most of an opportunity while Simpson — who signed a guaranteed four-year, $25.4 million rookie contract — learns the offense.

“Stetson has been a real positive, as has Ty,” McVay said. “Stetson’s just had some more reps, but I’ve been really pleased with him and his ability to create off-schedule, reading with his feet.”

Rams star receiver Puka Nacua painted a picture after Wednesday’s practice that would seem to bode well for Bennett’s future with the team as the former UGA star enters the final year of his four-year rookie contract.

Asked to give a “report card” on the backup quarterback position, and Simpson’s development, specifically, Nacua seemed to tilt his answer in Bennett’s favor.

“I think it’s been really fun to see Ty, I have the opportunity to be in the quarterback room, and to see the questions that he asks, and the ability he has to ask questions …,” Nacua said. “Then to see Stetson get those reps and play with confidence — I think everybody knows that there’s a swagger that he has when he walks out on the football field.

“In the receiver room, you can feel that, and there’s a swagger and an aura that No. 9 (Matthew Stafford) has, and it bleeds into that room,” said Nacua, who was on the receiving end of one of Bennett’s highlight-reel throws earlier in camp.

“It’s been exciting to see Stetty go out there with the confidence to sling it, and then to watch Ty continue to ask the right questions, and then when he goes out there to play with confidence.”

The 40-year-old McVay, now entering his 10th season as the Rams’ head coach, seems to be sensing the same things as the team’s preseason opener at Kansas City (Aug. 15) approaches.

“Dave Ragone (co-offensive coordinator and QB coach) does a great job, and then obviously Matthew’s leadership in that room, and when he’s out here, there’s that presence and that ability to lead those guys,” McVay said of the development in the Rams’ QB room. “You follow his lead you’ll be in really good shape.