Texas at LSU
Akin to what we saw this past draft with the duo of Alabama receivers, a similar situation could play out involving wide receivers from LSU. Justin Jefferson went in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings, but for many his former teammate Ja’Marr Chase, seen here beating A.J. Terrell in the National Championship Game, is the more complete receiver. Most draft analysts currently have Chase as the top WR in the upcoming class, and that includes the two returning Alabama wideouts.
Had Chase been able to take the field against Texas, he’d see across the line of scrimmage one of the better safeties in the college game, Caden Sterns. Sterns is more of your prototypical free safety, with good man coverage skills and the fluidity to be used as both a center fielder or as a half-field player as part of a Cover 2 scheme. Given his coverage skills, it might not have been outside the realm of possibility to see Chase matched up against Sterns in some one-on-one situations. But at the bare minimum we could have seen some deep plays downfield with Chase working against Sterns in zone coverage. Instead, we can only wonder what could have been.