SF 49ers NFL Draft: 6 quarterbacks to target who aren’t Zach Wilson
By Peter Panacy
893. . Quarterback. Bulldogs . K.J. Costello. 5. player
SF 49ers QB Target No. 5: K.J. Costello, Mississippi State
Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello is an intriguing prospect for the SF 49ers and is the epitome of a boom-or-bust kind of player.
On the good side, the 6-foot-5, 225 pounder isn’t likely to be selected earlier than Round 5, so the Niners wouldn’t have too many worries about using a day-three flier on him. And considering they’re possibly going to lose backup quarterbacks Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard to free agency in 2021, getting someone to develop under center might be worthwhile.
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2017 | Stanford | Pac-12 | SO | QB | 11 | 124 | 211 | 58.8 | 1573 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 14 | 4 | 139.5 |
| *2018 | Stanford | Pac-12 | JR | QB | 13 | 269 | 413 | 65.1 | 3540 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 29 | 11 | 155.0 |
| 2019 | Stanford | Pac-12 | SR | QB | 5 | 102 | 167 | 61.1 | 1038 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6 | 3 | 121.6 |
| 2020 | Mississippi State | SEC | SR | QB | 5 | 134 | 207 | 64.7 | 1283 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 6 | 10 | 116.7 |
| Career | Overall | 629 | 998 | 63.0 | 7434 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 55 | 28 | 138.2 | ||||
| Stanford | 495 | 791 | 62.6 | 6151 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 49 | 18 | 143.8 | |||||
| Mississippi State | 134 | 207 | 64.7 | 1283 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 6 | 10 | 116.7 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Unlike Sam Ehlinger, Costello does have some zip on his throws and is capable of making any toss anywhere on the field, giving Kyle Shanahan the kind of weapon he hasn’t exactly had under center since taking over head coaching duties in 2017.
Transferring from Stanford to Mississippi State in 2020 also gave the quarterback a chance to see some tougher defensive competition, and he was rewarded with a slight uptick in his completion percentage, albeit at the cost of more interceptions thrown than touchdowns.
That’s part of his concern, though, as Costello’s pocket awareness isn’t particularly great, and some of his rushed mechanics have led to turnovers.
But as far as his upside is concerned, there’s a good deal to like here on a draft-and-develop prospect.