2021 NFL Draft Prospect Matchup Preview – Week 7

Want to get to know the draft prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft? This weekly column breaks down the best matchups to watch each week in college football.

By Charlie Campbell.
Send Charlie an e-mail here: [email protected]
Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell for updates.

Pittsburgh vs. Miami; Saturday, Oct. 17, 12:00 PM ET ACCN
The Prospects:

Pittsburgh safety Paris Ford, No. 12
Pittsburgh center Jimmy Morrissey, No. 67
Pittsburgh defensive end Rashad Weaver, No. 17
Pittsburgh defensive end Patrick Jones II, No. 91

Miami edge rusher Quincy Roche, No. 2
Miami defensive end Jaelen Phillips, No. 15
Miami safety Bubba Bolden, No. 21
Miami tight end Brevin Jordan, No. 9

The Matchups: There is some good NFL talent on the field in this game, and the best matchup will be Ford versus Jordan. Ford has man-coverage skills to cover up tight ends, but Jordan is a dangerous receiver with a size advantage on Ford. If Ford can shut down Jordan, that would help Ford’s draft grade. The pass-rushing prospects of Jones, Weaver and Roche will be worth watching as well.

Auburn vs. South Carolina; Saturday, Oct. 17, 12:00 PM ET ESPN
The Prospects:

Auburn S Jamien Sherwood, No. 20
Auburn WR Seth Williams, No. 18
Auburn WR Anthony Schwartz, No. 1
Auburn ILB K.J. Britt, No. 33

South Carolina LB Sherrod Greene, No. 44
South Carolina CB Israel Mukuamu, No. 24
South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn, No. 1

The Matchups: The best matchup in this game will be the South Carolina defensive backs on the Auburn receiving duo of Williams and Schwartz. Williams had an excellent start to the year against Kentucky, but he was shut down by Georgia. The South Carolina duo had some up and down moments in the loss to Florida. Williams is a big receiver, and he needs to show the speed and suddenness to separate from these Gamecock defensive backs.

LSU vs Florida; Saturday, Oct. 17, 3:30 PM ET ESPN
The Prospects:

Florida QB Kyle Trask, No. 11
Florida TE Kyle Pitts, No. 84
Florida WR Kadarius Toney, No. 1
Florida WR Jacob Copeland, No. 15
Florida WR Trevon Grimes, No. 8
Florida LT Stone Forsythe, No. 72
Florida DE Brenton Cox, No. 1
Florida DT Tedarrell Slaton, No. 56
Florida LB Ventrell Miller, No. 51
Florida S Shawn Davis, No. 6

LSU WR Terrace Mitchell, No. 6
LSU OLB Jabril Cox, No. 19
LSU ILB Damone Clark, No. 35
LSU G Ed Ingram, No. 70
LSU DL Neil Farrell, No. 92
LSU RB Chris Curry, No. 24
LSU RT Austin Deculus, No. 76

The Matchups: This game features a lot of good receiving talent for the NFL, with Pitts, Toney and Mitchell all having the potential to be first-round picks next April in the 2021 NFL Draft. It will be interesting to see if these two universities that fight over the title “DB U” can slow up any of these playmakers. LSU cornerback Derek Stingley is not eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft – the 2022 NFL Draft would be his first opportunity – but he is a fantastic cover corner, so it will be interesting for NFL scouts to see how Pitts, Toney, Copeland and Grimes do against Stingley.

Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State; Saturday, Oct. 17, 4:00 PM ET SECN
The Prospects:

Mississippi State QB K.J. Costello, No. 3
Mississippi State RB Kylin Hill, No. 8
Mississippi State WR Osiris Mitchell, No. 5
Mississippi State OT Greg Eiland, No. 55
Mississippi State ILB Erroll Thompson, No. 40
Mississippi State DE Marquiss Spencer, No. 42

Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond, No. 11
Texas A&M OT Carson Green, No. 54
Texas A&M OT Dan Moore, No. 65
Texas A&M ILB Buddy Johnson, No. 1
Texas A&M CB Myles Jones, No. 0
Texas A&M DT Bobby Brown III, No. 5

The Matchups: Both K.J. Costello and Kellen Mond have the physical skill sets to play quarterback in the NFL. Both of them also struggle with consistency, however. After two bad games, Mond was very good against Florida, leading a fourth-quarter comeback win. Costello was dynamite in the season opener and then struggled in a loss to Arkansas. Both quarterbacks have to get more consistent to rise, so this is a very important game for each player.

Georgia vs. Alabama; Saturday, Oct. 17, 8:00 PM ET CBS
The Prospects:

Alabama WR DeVonta Smith, No. 6
Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle, No. 17
Alabama OT Alex Leatherwood, No. 70
Alabama C Landon Dickerson, No. 69
Alabama RB Najee Harris, No. 22
Alabama DL LaBryan Ray, No. 18
Alabama DT Christian Barmore, No. 58
Alabama ILB Dylan Moses, No. 32
Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II, No. 2
Alabama CB Josh Jobe, No. 28

Georgia RB Zamir White, No. 3
Georgia LB Monty Rice, No. 32
Georgia LB Azeez Ojulari, No. 13
Georgia DT Jordan Davis, No. 99
Georgia S Richard LeCounte, No. 2
Georgia CB Tyson Campbell, No. 3
Georgia CB D.J. Daniel, No. 14
Georgia CB Eric Stokes, No. 27

The Matchups: The best matchup is in the passing game with Campbell and LeCounte taking on the elite Alabama receivers of Smith and Waddle. Campbell is a big corner with special height and length, so if he shows that he has the enough speed to stay close to Smith and Waddle, that could be a huge boost to Campbell’s draft stock. Similarly, Georgia has some young receiver talent who will be a good test for Surtain. Of course with Alabama and Georgia, there will be some future NFL running backs on display with Harris and White.

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