Background

Rayshaun Benny grew up in the Oak Park and Detroit, Michigan, area and attended Oak Park High School, where he was a two-way standout at offensive tackle and defensive end, posting 75 tackles, 5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles as a junior. Before his senior year, he suffered a knee injury in a car accident, requiring surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee, causing him to miss the first five games while Oak Park went 0-6. He returned and put up 32 tackles, 11 TFL, and 5.5 sacks in just five games, sparking a four-game playoff run that ended in overtime of the state semifinals. A consensus four-star ranked No. 191 nationally with offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and LSU, he initially committed to Michigan State on November 9, 2020, but flipped to Michigan on National Signing Day, February 3, 2021. He spent five seasons at Michigan playing behind a parade of future NFL players including Mazi Smith, Mason Graham, and Kenneth Grant, appearing in 54 career games with 15 starts. His 2023 junior season was his best statistically with 27 tackles, 5.5 TFL, and a forced fumble, but ended when he broke his fibula in the Rose Bowl CFP Semifinal against Alabama, missing the national championship game against Washington. After returning in 2024 with 29 tackles and 3.5 TFL, he finally became a full-time starter as a fifth-year graduate student in 2025, recording 35 tackles, 3 TFL, and 1.5 sacks across all 13 starts, earning Third-Team All-Big Ten and the Woodley-Graham Award as Michigan's top defensive lineman. He won three consecutive Big Ten titles and a national championship in 2023, enrolled in Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and earned his undergraduate degree before declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

RAS:

Not the full picture of the athlete, but it shows that Benny has poor lateral quickness, a rather essential trait for a DL. In a straight line, Benny appears to get up to a decent top speed, even if he takes a while to get there. He won't be winning too many battles of strength against linemen, as his more upright style makes it hard for him to use his base effectively.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my DT radar charts, you can find more information here

Some analysts have Benny listed as a DE, and depending on how you identify a 5-tech, 3-4 outside DL, you could count him that way. I consider that position's skill set to be more similar to a general DT than a modern EDGE, so I will look at him as that.

Looking at Benny as a 5-tech, he still looks like a tweener. He is not big enough to be a 0 or 1 technique lined up over the center, but does not offer the athleticism I would want on a player on the outside. He has the size for the outside and athleticism for the inside, though, so you are kind of left questioning what to do with him.

PFF rating Benny's run defense as highly as it does goes against what I saw. There are snaps where he looks immovable, and then others where he gets thrown out of the club. His ability to navigate around guards and tackles into gaps helps even out those plays. And when one on one, he can throw unbalanced blockers off of him.

As a pass rusher, Benny offers a little. Most of what I saw came from the end of plays where he just kept his motor running. There are few quick wins on tape, or moves outside of looking to slowly push his blocker back, or to ole a guard.

Grade and Outlook

I have to feel great about a 24-year-old rookies ability to contribute right away. And when as a 23-year-old in college, a player did not have massive contributions, I will be very skeptical. His unique fit into the 5 tech spot in a 3-4 scheme is worth something though.

Grade: 3.9 (Late 4th Rounder / Early 5th Rounder)