Stetson Bennett Locks Down Rams QB2 Job Behind Matthew Stafford
Bennett went 19-of-31 for 181 yards with two rushing scores in a 34-0 preseason rout, cementing his spot as Stafford's only insurance.
Elite QB1, but thin depth means his health is your whole season.
- Bennett: 19/31, 181 yards, 2 rush TD vs Saints
- Rams won the preseason tilt 34-0
- Stafford: 4,707 yds, 46 TD, 0 INT in 2025
- Stafford ranks #1 QB, #3 overall in our model
- Bennett has zero regular-season snaps in 3 years
The Rams have quietly settled their most important non-Stafford question: Stetson Bennett IV is the QB2, and he's earning it. In Los Angeles's 34-0 preseason shutout of the Saints, Bennett completed 19 of 31 passes for 181 yards and punched in two rushing touchdowns, exactly the kind of dual-threat tape that makes a coaching staff comfortable.
That matters because the depth chart behind Matthew Stafford is paper-thin. Jimmy Garoppolo is gone, and first-round rookie Ty Simpson is still learning the offense, which leaves Bennett as the only body on the roster who isn't a project. Head coach Sean McVay praised Bennett's command, decision-making and progression reads, and specifically loved that he used his legs to extend plays.
The one blemish: Bennett stuck the ball out for the pylon and nearly fumbled it through the end zone. The on-field call was reversed to a touchdown after a McVay challenge, but the coach flagged it as a teaching moment — you don't want a touchback where a score should be. McVay leaned on his usual mantra that reps are the mother of learning, crediting QB coach Dave Ragone for Bennett's steady climb.
Here's the caveat you can't ignore for fantasy purposes: across three prior seasons, Bennett hasn't taken a single snap in a game that counts. Every rep of his development has come in the preseason. McVay clearly likes his gamer instincts and presence, but there's a difference between shredding third-string defenses in August and stepping in cold against a live NFL front.
Why This Is a Stafford Story
Stafford is the whole point here. He's our No. 1 quarterback and No. 3 overall player, coming off a monster 2025 season (actual): 4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdowns and zero interceptions across 17 games for 370 PPR points. That's a top-of-the-draft, set-and-forget arm — as long as he's upright.
The Bennett news is really a reminder to protect the asset. If you roster Stafford, you're holding an elite QB1, but you have essentially no in-house safety net worth streaming if he goes down. Don't bother stashing Bennett unless Stafford actually gets hurt; instead, keep a viable free-agent QB in mind and pounce the moment there's any injury news out of L.A.
