2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Bryan Bennett

In our first scouting report for the 2015 NFL Draft, I took a look at Old Dominion quarterback Taylor Heinicke, and for this scouting report, I am going to take a look at another quarterback which your team can get on day three of the draft and that is Southeastern Louisiana’s Bryan Bennett.

If Bennett’s name looks familiar to you, that’s because he played a short time at Oregon under Chip Kelly. His time was short at Oregon as it looked like he was going to be the successor to Darron Thomas, who now plays in the Arena Football League. But things did a complete 180 as Marcus Mariota entered the picture and won the job in 2012. We all know how the story goes after that for Mariota. On the other hand, Bennett only had 83 career pass attempts in three seasons at Oregon and decided to take his talents to the FCS, where he was able to showcase them.

In his first season at Southeastern Louisiana in 2013, he had 1,046 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. Then in the passing game, he had 3,165 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He also had a 60.7 completion percentage, which isn’t too shabby. Finally, this past season, his numbers dropped considerably. He only had 669 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns and in the passing game, he only had 2,357 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. When I mentioned that his numbers dropped, it was regarding his completion percentage as this past season, he only completed 49.5 percent of his passes. His accuracy is one of the things that concern me at the next level.

But let’s dive into Bennett’s scouting report starting off with his strengths:

• Played in a spread offense – Just like Taylor Heinicke and many other quarterbacks that we will do scouting reports on most played in a spread offense. For Bennett, he played in two different styles of spread offenses, Oregon’s and Southeastern Louisiana’s, which are both considerably different but played to his strengths as a quarterback.
• Mobile – Mobility is a big thing for Bennett as he comes in at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. The red shirt senior used his mobility to get him out of a lot of trouble when making plays for Southeastern Louisiana. He can extend plays with his legs but is not good throwing on the run.
• Can make the small to intermediate throws – If you are a team in the NFL that lives on short routes that gives your wide receivers the room to make plays then Bennett might be your guy to draft. He does not have a big time arm but has solid enough arm strength to get the job done. When watching film against Sam Houston State in 2013 and this past season against Tulane and Stephen F. Austin, that is one thing that caught my eye is on the short routes he can put the passes right on the money.

With the strengths, come the weaknesses so here are things Bennett needs work in:

• Focuses on one read – Just like Heinicke and other quarterbacks that I will focus on this draft season, they all focus on their one/hot read because that is what they are taught. For Bennett, when he did that, it did not work out as in their playoff game against Sam Houston State in 2013. He threw a pick six as he stared down his receiver. At the next level, if you still stare down your receivers, interceptions will start to be a commonality.
• Inaccuracy/Decision Making – This is a seriously problem that has plagued Bennett throughout his career but it was more evident this past season as he only had a completion percentage of 49.5. There were too many cases, where Bennett would try to make a play out of nothing instead of throwing the ball away. Do not get me wrong, it is good sometimes for your quarterback to take risks but Bennett will find his way on the bench if he does not make the correct decision when the opportunity presents itself.

Here are his stats from this season: 2,357 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 669 rushing yards, and 15 touchdowns

Here are his stats from his best season which was in 2013: 3,165 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 1,046 rushing yards, and 16 touchdowns

NFL Draft Projection: 5th Round-7th Round