New York Giants Draft Preview: RB Trey Benson

Trey Benson might just be the best running back in an otherwise weak class at the position group.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2024

In this story:

New York Giants

Trey Benson

NFL Draft

Trey Benson, RB

Height: 6’0
Weight: 216 lbs
Hands: 9 ¼”
Arms: 32 ½”
Wingspan: 76 ¼”
Class: Senior
School: Texas
STATS

MEASUREMENTS

40-yard dash: 4.39
10-yard split: 1.52
Vertical Jump: 33.5”
Broad Jump: 10’2”

A former four-star recruit out of St. Joseph High School in Greenville, Mississippi, where he was the sixth-ranked Mississippian and the 21st-ranked RB in the 2020 recruiting class. Benson spent two seasons at Oregon before he transferred to Florida State where he was a four-star recruit, the fourth-ranked RB, and the 34 ranked player in the 2022 transfer portal.

Benson suffered a catastrophic knee injury at practice as a freshman. He tore his right ACL, MCL, lateral and medial meniscus while also tearing his gracilis tendon in his right hamstring. He only played 14 snaps in 2021 before deciding to transfer to Florida State, where he played a collective 769 snaps over two seasons.

Benson became the first Florida State Seminole to record an 80-yard touchdown catch and rush. In doing so, he reached a peak speed of 21.9 MPH and reached 21 MPH several times through his senior season. He earned two consecutive spots on the Second-team All-ACC (2022 & 2023).

Strengths

* Good sized back with a chiseled physique
* Home run breakaway long speed - does possess a second gear
* Explosive lateral agility to cover ground on juke at the LOS
* Low runner who quickly changes direction
* Clocked over 21 MPH
--Pitt Q3 1:21 55 yd TD
* Quick accelerator - smooth mover when adjusting laterally on longer runs
* Very good speed to capture the edge and score up the sideline
--Florida Q3 12:41
--Miami Q3 5:57 38 yd TD
--Wake Forest Q2 4:31 80 yd screen TD
* Difficult to frame in space - sells intentions well by angling his body before quickly slashing in another direction
--Louisville Q4 5:26 21 yd rush
--Miami Q1 10:49 7 yd rush (option run); Q3 5:57 38 yd TD
--Duke Q3 13:12 10 yd rush
* Sudden short-area-quickness to start/stop with twitch at the LOS
* Light feet when parsing through LOS
* Solid vision to see openings - adaptive rusher
* Forces LBs to scrape too far with movement - finds cut-back
* Dangerous with a two-way go when pressing the LOS
* Patient and explosive to win the cat & mouse game vs. LBs
* Good overall feel/vision to abandon front side of the play - locates cut-back
* Uses very good tempo/patience at the LOS when warranted to allow holes to develop
* Tempo on counter runs was fantastic - optimized time for his blockers
* An impressive combination of controlled lateral movement & peripheral vision
--Florida Q4 2:56 26 yd TD
--LSU Q4 14:50 14 yd rush
--Wake Forest Q4 11:14 3rd & 18, TD 18 yds
* Good play strength - will run right through arm tackles
* Dangerous stiff arm - strong & firm, propels him off contact
* Impressive power and core strength vs. high tacklers - maintains low leverage and keeps his feet moving
* Strong lower body and balance when wrapped up high
* Will churn his feet and stay low through contact with back turned away from the upfield
* Gets low at the line of scrimmage - can run between the tackles at the GL
--Florida Q2 00:32 TD
--Miami Q1 7:19 TD
* Not afraid of contact - runs with an old-school mentality
* Flashed very good contact balance/control through contact
--Miami Q1 2:58 7 yd rush
* Defenders better ensure he’s done upon tackling - he frequently popped up without having a knee or elbow touch the deck
* Natural receiver with adequate hands - can extend away from his frame
* Catches the football smoothly and gets upfield quickly
* Natural feel for sifting through traffic and setting up blocks as a screen receiver
* Functional pass protector - strong base and solid identification skills
* Ran WILDCAT near end of the season
* Plenty of experience rushing in Power/Gap/Counter & Zone

[View more draft prospect scouting profiles.]

Weaknesses

* A bit tight-hipped as his speed increases
* Could be more elusive at the second/third level
* Flashed very good contact balance/control through contact but wasn’t consistently a top trait through tape
* Solid overall contact balance, though
* Flashed natural receiving skills other than vs. Syracuse, where he had three drops
* He was looking into the sun for two of them; neither were easy catches but should have been caught
* Only had 32 catches in his college career
* Had plays where he sifted through traffic well inside but had a propensity to bounce outside
* Needs to learn when the play is dead
--Florida Q1 7:33 11-yard loss
--LSU Q4 13:41 2-yard loss
* He is a functional pass protector but could take better angles and position himself in a more advantageous manner
* Never had more than 20 carries in a game (had 20 vs. Florida in 2022)
* Devastating knee injury in 2020 at Oregon

Summary

Trey Benson has had two productive seasons since his devasting knee injury in 2020. He’s a big back who thrived in a power/gap system with experience in zone. He has explosive long speed- clocking over 21 MPH several times in 2023 - with excellent acceleration in his second gear.

He flashed excellent vision when sifting through traffic between the hashes but also had the propensity to bounce runs outside; consistency on the vision front can likely be improved, but some of the runs listed above required next-level nuance and feel. Overall, I’m not concerned with his vision, which is enhanced by his patience/timing and ability to wait for blocks to develop the best answer.

Benson’s combination of size and speed is enticing. He’s not a slippery fish in space, but he showed the ability to set defenders up and use his burst/speed to break their angles. He wasn’t used extensively as a receiver but looked solid when asked, and his ability to pass protect was functional. The Giants displayed interest in Benson.

The Giants, specifically, have many needs on their roster that could be addressed in the second round. It remains unclear if Benson would be at pick 70 for Big Blue. His capabilities suggest a day-two player, and he has starting upside, but the Giants, and their off-season moves, may suggest RB is more of a day-three option.

GRADE: 6.45 (Will become a future starter sooner rather than later)