Chicago Bears 2021 NFL Draft: Late round quarterback possibilities
By Ryan Heckman
Chicago Bears Late Round QB Options: K.J. Costello, Mississippi State
To open the 2020 college football season, Mississippi State’s K.J. Costello threw for a ridiculous 623 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Louisiana State. Some people thought this was going to be the start of something incredible under Mike Leach’s offense after Costello spent his previous three years at Stanford.
More from Da Windy City
- 3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to Nashville
- Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
- The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
- Chicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidates
- Chicago White Sox News: Erick Fedde signs two-year deal
Instead, Costello struggled with injuries and overall performance on the field for the rest of the year and only ended up throwing for 1,283 yards and six touchdowns on the season — yes, just one more touchdown the rest of the way after a Week 1 blowup.
Costello is an interesting prospect, because while at Stanford he put up some respectable numbers before transferring. In 2018, Costello threw for 3,540 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
He is now likely going to be a seventh rounder or even an UDFA. But, there are some traits to work with as a developmental guy.
Costello has prototypical size at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He’s also got a cannon for an arm. That’s what scouts will fall in love with while having to deal with the weaknesses. Costello has the arm to make every throw in the book with ease.
The problem comes within his decision-making. Costello is good for some bad throws now and again, which is why he was benched twice in 2020. He has a lot of work to do when it comes to working through his progressions and learning to check down or even throw it away.