THE FLATS – Georgia Tech tight ends Dylan Leonard (Milton, Ga./Milton H.S.) and Luke Benson (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West H.S.) joined the National Football League ranks on Saturday, when they agreed to free-agent terms with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, respectively.
Leonard came to Georgia Tech as a walk-on in 2019, went on to earn a scholarship within a year and played in 52 games with 31 starts over five seasons with the Yellow Jackets. Despite modest receiving statistics (41 receptions for 387 yards over five seasons), he established himself as one of college football’s top tight ends due to his blocking, which helped pave the way for Tech to rank among the top 15 nationally in both rushing and fewest sacks allowed in 2023, and his leadership. He was one of 20 semifinalists for the 2023 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award and was voted one of the ’23 team’s permanent captains by his teammates. A two-time all-ACC academic team member, 2022 Campbell Trophy (college football’s top scholar-athlete) semifinalist and member of the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society, Leonard graduated from Tech with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, is pursuing a master’s in analytics and is a prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference postgraduate scholarship recipient.
Benson played two seasons at Georgia Tech (2022-23) after arriving on The Flats as a graduate transfer from Syracuse. He saw action in all 25 games over his two seasons at Tech with 10 starts, and was a stalwart for the Yellow Jackets both on offense and special teams. Widely regarded as one of the Jackets’ fastest players over the past two seasons regardless of position, the 6-foot-4, 233-pound Benson wowed NFL scouts by running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, doing 20 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and recording a 35-inch vertical jump during Georgia Tech’s pro day last month.
Leonard and Benson become the second and third Tech tight ends to enter the NFL in the last five years, joining Tyler Davis, who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 and is currently a member of the Green Bay Packers. Additionally, former Yellow Jacket Darren Waller, who played wide receiver at Tech (2012-14) before becoming a Pro Bowl tight end in the NFL, just completed his eighth NFL season as a member of the New York Giants.
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