Around the SEC: Don’t count KJ Costello out as a legitimate QB prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft

Here’s a complete breakdown of what a team is getting in the former Stanford signal-caller.

Bottom Line

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After Costello’s historical performance against LSU, things went downhill. But there are so many factors to consider in this, and the closer we look into it, the more it looks like this isn’t much of Costello’s fault at all.

For one, Costello transitioned from a pro-style system at Stanford to the Air Raid at Mississippi State in a time when COVID made an already difficult transition even harder.

For two, Mississippi State — like LSU — had one of the youngest teams in the SEC. It was hard for any team to get a large number of meaningful reps ahead of the season, something that’s important when you have a team with several young guys on it while the program is adopting a totally new offensive scheme.

No offense can succeed without a solid offensive line. Take Joe Burrow’s first season in Cincinnati as hard evidence. The pass blocking by Mississippi State’s offensive line was poor on more than just a handful of plays, contributing to turnovers, sacks and missed opportunities. There were also some interceptions in there caused by wide receiver error.

Suddenly, Costello’s nine total interceptions after the LSU game don’t sound so bad, now do they? That’s because at least half of them can’t be considered all his fault.

The skillset is there. The tangibles and the intangibles are there.

The hope is that Costello won’t be overlooked or looked down upon solely due to a 2020 season going awry for him in a way that no one could have predicted.

Here’s a look at some of his strongest highlights, which give us a glimpse into what he may be able to accomplish at the NFL level:

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