2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Profile: Trey Benson, RB Florida State
The current supposed RB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft class has endured a tumultuous 12 months of value shifting. Trey Benson’s disappointing 2023 season soured the opinion of many analysts but his recent performance at the NFL Scouting Combine once again has people believing in the explosive Florida State Seminole.
Does Benson deserve his RB1 status, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of his game? Let’s take a look.
The Stats
Unfortunately for Benson, his college career did not start as smoothly as one would hope. He was buried on the depth chart his freshman year at Oregon and only played seven games due to the COVID-shortened season. In December of that year, Benson suffered an awful knee injury during a non-contact drill where he tore his ACL, MCL, both his lateral and medial meniscus, and his hamstring.
He spent most of 2021 recovering but still recovered quickly enough to appear in two games and get six carries for the Ducks. Following that season, he decided it was time to move back closer to home and transferred to Florida State.
Courtesy of Sports Reference.
After transferring to Florida State, his college career blossomed. Benson eclipsed 1,130 total yards in each of his two seasons for the Seminoles and scored 24 total touchdowns. He was also able to showcase his ability to contribute in the receiving game.
Courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
At Florida State, he enjoyed a breakout 2022 campaign. He had a 91.4 PFF rush grade (13th in the country), he averaged 4.53 yards after contact per attempt (sixth in the country), he forced 79 missed tackles (sixth in the country), he averaged .51 missed tackles forced per attempt (by far first in the country), and he earned an elusiveness rating of 226 which was also first in the country by a wide a margin.
Following the 2022 season, I was in love with Benson for all of those reasons. I thought going back to school was a mistake for his NFL value but he returned with the majority of his team to try and chase a national championship.
Like most players who try and run it back for one more year, his value took a major hit after a disappointing 2023 season. Those numbers that were so impressive in 2022 fell off a cliff this past season. His yards after contact per attempt fell from 4.53 to 3.53, his missed tackles forced fell from 79 to 45, and his explosive runs fell from 22 to 15. Further, if you take away Benson’s monster game against Virginia Tech where had ran for 200 yards on only 11 carries, he averaged only 4.8 yards per attempt on the year and never again eclipsed the 100-yard mark.
Not only did his numbers fall during his final season, but Benson’s backup thrived at the same time. Lawrence Toafili outperformed Benson in yards per carry, yards after contact per attempt, and explosive rush rate with virtually identical numbers in missed tackles forced.
While this might seem like a Trey Benson bashing, I’m actually a big fan! I just think it’s important to lay out all the facts, both positive and negative, when evaluating a prospect.
The Film
Benson’s best game of the 2023 season came against Virginia Tech when he ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 attempts.
This game shows everything there is to love about Benson’s game. The two long touchdown runs allow him to perfectly demonstrate what he does best. He is elite at putting his foot in the ground and exploding upfield when he finds an opening. He clocked some of the fastest times in the country this season based on tracking data, and his 40 time is further evidence of his home run speed.
While Benson exudes athleticism, he often gets into trouble solely relying on his athletic skill set. His speed allows for explosive rushes and his size/strength combo causes defensive backs to bounce off of him, but between the tackles, he leaves a lot to be desired.
If the Virginia Tech game illustrates everything to like about Benson, this game against Boston College demonstrates everything to be concerned about with him.
I remember watching this game and being completely perplexed about what I was watching on my TV screen. Benson looked completely lost in this game and his performance was borderline unexplainable. It was so bad I assumed we would get news after the game about an injury but nope, he was just that bad.
Benson is routinely indecisive at the line of scrimmage and takes forever to make decisions. Even more concerning, he slows down before reaching a defender and is consistently tackled by the first defender he meets. Arguably his best play of the game comes at the 48-second mark where he bounces a run to the outside for an eight-yard gain. However, this comes after he slows down at the line of scrimmage and breaks an arm tackle from a defensive lineman. Benson won’t be able to rely on his athleticism to make plays like that at the NFL level and that run will surely result in a one-yard gain on Sundays.
As you can see, there is a lot of good and bad in the Trey Benson tape. His athleticism is off the charts and he’s explosive when he has the ball in the open field. However, I have concerns about his ability as a nuanced runner who can win consistently between the tackles.
The Measurables
After a slightly disappointing senior season, Benson really needed a strong NFL combine performance to reestablish himself as a top-tier RB prospect in this class and he did just that.
Courtesy of RAS.
Benson’s 9.70 RAS was the fifth highest of any RB in this class and the 40th-highest score among all 1,745 running backs tested since 1987. His most impressive event was by far the 40-yard dash which he ran in 4.39 seconds. This confirms what we saw on the field from Benson at Florida State where he had 37 explosive runs over two seasons.
His workout and 40 times were encouraging to see at his size of 216 pounds and it catapults him squarely into the RB1 discussion for this class with only a month left before the NFL draft.
The Value
Benson’s NFL draft value has consolidated over the last month or so near the end of the second round and the beginning of the third round. This is a pretty popular area for mock drafters to have the top tier of RBs finally go off the board.
Courtesy of Mock Draft Database.
There is no Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs in this class who will find themselves drafted in the first round, but a handful of backs will hear their names called on the second day of the draft. Benson, Jonathon Brooks, Jaylen Wright, and Blake Corum all seem to be in a similar boat in the 60-80 pick range range.
Courtesy of DLF’s Rookie ADP.
Benson is currently the RB1 in the dynasty community based on DLF’s rookie ADP as he narrowly edges out Jonathon Brooks and is followed by Corum, Wright, Braelon Allen, and MarShawn Lloyd. As is typically the case with running backs, this order will shift significantly following April’s draft due mostly to draft capital, but also thanks to landing spots.
Even though this draft lacks an elite RB option, it has created an intriguing opportunity for fantasy managers. Very rarely will the RB1 be available at the 2.02 in a rookie draft. The strength of the WR class has pushed a lot of these backs down the board and makes the second round a great spot to be if you need help filling out your running back room.
The Outlook
There are positives and negatives associated with Trey Benson as an NFL prospect but he’s still the RB1 in this class. That speaks to the relative weakness of this RB class alongside the high upside of Benson’s play style.
I’ve spoken more negatively of Benson than I anticipate anyone else you’ve listened to or read has, and I still have Benson as my RB2 in this class! This crop of running backs is imperfect and weighing the pros and cons of each player will become even more important for rookie drafts. I think Benson can find a lot of success in an NFL offense that will allow him to maximize his skillset while not asking him to do too much in the way of thinking the game. A one-cut offense like Miami would be perfect if still ultimately unlikely a landing spot.
Benson’s ideal role in an NFL offense will most likely mirror what we saw from Jaylen Warren this season in Pittsburgh – a change-of-pace back who provides instant explosiveness and big-play ability as well as plus skills in the receiving game.
Benson is currently valued at the 2.02 in rookie drafts and I’d say that is about right if only a little early for my taste. That’s roughly where I’m looking to take Texas’s Jonathon Brooks and think an appropriate range for Benson is the 2.04-2.06.
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