2021 NFL Draft: What kind of prospect is KJ Costello?

What kind of prospect is 2021 NFL Draft hopeful KJ Costello?

There was a ton of intrigue surrounding the 2020 NFL Draft class at the quarterback position, but the 2021 NFL Draft class might be even more interesting.

One of the prospects worth monitoring over the course of the 2020 college football season will be former Stanford Cardinal quarterback KJ Costello, who has made a cross-country move to Mississippi State to play for new head coach Mike Leach.

Costello already had experience in a pro-style offense at Stanford, something that’s immediately attractive to NFL coaches and scouts, but Costello will now have a chance to show how he can do in an air-raid offense.

Costello has playmaking ability

Even though he was limited to just five games last season at Stanford, Costello is coming to Mississippi State with 29 starts under his belt. He’s got experience, and as a sophomore in 2018, he looked like he could be a future top NFL prospect.

He completed over 65 percent of his passes two seasons ago with 29 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

In an offense where he’s going to be throwing the ball a ton, the pressure will be on Costello to prove that his decision making — which has been an issue in recent years — is not something that’s going to cost his team tremendously and is something he can actually improve on.

Still, when you look at this guy in terms of his overall traits as a passer with good velocity on the ball, the ability to run a high-volume passing attack, his experience with working out of a pro-style attack at Stanford, his starting experience in general, and his size, this is a prospect who will have the attention of NFL scouts throughout the 2020 season.

If he can make improvements in his decision making, he could ascend from an early day three pick to a top 50 player.