MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/8)
Josh Gross
Last Updated: 7/28/2023
Trey Benson is among last season’s risers as he emerged as an effective runner for the ascending Seminoles offense. This was his first time seeing significant touches at the college level and made the best of it. His 6.4 yards per carry was the second most in the ACC, and he was top five in rushing yards (990) and scrimmage yards (1,134).
Benson has a leaner frame standing 6-foot-1 and only 211 pounds, but he does have a stout lower body. This gives him some solid strength for his build, but he only sometimes uses it properly. Although he doesn’t shy away from contact, he regularly gets stood up due to poor pad level at the point of contact. We often see a lack of strong contact balance and is often tripped up easily, due to his upper body being out in front of his legs. All of this stems from his upright running style, I hope to see him improve this area of his game in 2023.
His speed may be his best attribute and he pairs it with quick acceleration that allows him to constantly outrun angles and run away from defenders. On the flip side of this, Benson sometimes tends to overrun his blockers as opposed to allowing them to set up, limiting his max gain. If there isn’t a hole immediately, he does show good patience and presses the line of scrimmage well, the issue appears more when there is an immediate hole opened. When he displays patience and allows his blockers to get set up it usually results in a huge play.
Another area where he is lacking is the ability to change direction fluidly as he almost comes to a complete stop when changing direction. He does, however, have a solid jump cut before he gets going. This clunkiness also transfers to his transitions on perimeter runs as he requires a few extra steps to get downhill than the elite runners. Once past the first level, I wouldn’t trust him to win one-on-one or his vision.
As a pass catcher, the jury is still out, he caught 13 balls last year, but most were screens. He did well here catching away from his body and transitioning smoothly, but I want to see more of this in 2023 before I reach a verdict.
- Long speed
- Quick feet
- Doesn’t shy away from contact
- Quick accelerator
- Overruns blockers
- Not overly elusive
- Runs upright
- Limited pass-catching profile
- 3 straight ACC Running Back of the Week honors
- Second Team All-ACC (2022)
- 40-yard dash: 4.39s
- 10-yard split: 1.52s
- Vertical: 33.5″
- Broad Jump: 10’2″
- Three-cone: TBD
- Shuttle: TBD
- Bench: TBD
- Split touch role with high upside, could develop into a three-down player
- Interior Zone or Gap
Trey Benson seems likely to become a split-touch player who can handle decent touches at the NFL level. His speed and acceleration make him a threat to take one to the house with every touch. This will make him a solid top-24 option regularly in the right system.
When it comes to devy, I am all in on Benson. He is part of an ascending offense that plays in a weaker ACC conference. He showed big-play ability last year, and I expect this to improve with Jordan Travis and this offense getting better.
