NFL draft: Is Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly, Jim’s nephew, a top-tier prospect?

We know the name and now we know his game a little better.

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly stepped up in a big way last Saturday in the Rebels’ massive upset over No. 2-ranked Alabama, completing 18-of-34 passes for 340 yards with three touchdown passes (to three different receivers) and no interceptions. Kelly also ran eight times for 34 yards and a score in the 43-37 victory.

Kelly is known in NFL circles for being the nephew of former Buffalo Bills great and Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, but the junior-college transfer also has some notoriety he’s trying to move past. Kelly was dismissed from Clemson last April for “conduct detrimental to the team,” and after transferring to East Mississippi Community College where he put up video-game numbers and led the team to a NJCAA national title, Kelly was forced to accept a plea agreement (50 hours of community service) to a non-criminal charge of disorderly conduct after his December 2014 arrest.

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Since then, Kelly has stayed out of trouble and beat out two other contenders for the Rebels’ starting job, and with the win over Bama — a school he strongly considered attending — Kelly has locked himself into a job and put himself on the draft radar.

The redshirt junior still has a year of eligibility, doesn’t have prototypical NFL size at 6-foot-1 and remains an unpolished product. But that doesn’t mean he might not consider leaving early if he has continued success and Ole Miss’ season keeps ascending.

Through three games, Kelly has completed 47-of-73 passes (64.4 percent) for 898 yards with nine TDs and one interception. A few of those plays against the Crimson Tide might fall under the category of “fortunate,” but Kelly was dialing up some big throws — two soul-crushing TD passes in the fourth quarter to stem the Tide — and led his team to 43 points against a Kirby Smart-coached defense that features future NFL starters.

Eight representatives from seven NFL teams (the San Francisco 49ers sent two scouts to the game) were on hand to watch Kelly and several other NFL prospects at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and one talent evaluator who was there — he was seeing Kelly live for the first time — came away impressed.

“He can shoot it,” the scout said. “I liked that he seemed to have a knack for the big moment, and he responded a few times with big throws right when [Alabama] was making some runs. That’s good. That shows me something.

“I haven’t done extensive work on him, and we’ll circle back around if we need to, but that’s one [game] you kind of dog-ear the page on, if you know what I mean.”

We do, and it’s clear that there is some clarity needed on the potential 2016 NFL draft class at quarterback. But like many other college quarterbacks, Kelly is being used in a spread offense that seems to irk some blueblooded NFL coaches and scouts trying to make a projection of how a quarterback such as Kelly might adapt to more of a pro-style scheme.

Right now, Kelly is not on the front of NFL evaluators’ brains because he’s a junior and has one big performance on a grand stage to his résumé. But you can be sure they’ll come back around if or when Kelly makes a decision on his professional future.

Draft notes

• The shocking season-ending injury to UCLA Myles Jack, perhaps the best pure athlete in college football, sent shock through the Bruins’ program and immediately set off talk that the junior might now declare for the 2016 NFL draft. He took out a $5 million insurance policy against him going in the first round, so there’s little for Jack to lose at this point. He’s considered a player with more upside than, say, Shaq Thompson, who was the 26th player picked in the 2015 draft, although Jack’s health could be an extenuating factor. With his foot speed, rush skill and playmaking ability (he has been a standout running back for the Bruins, too), Jack — we beg of you, editors: leave the “… of all trades” headlines on the cutting-room floor — stands as one of the most versatile and intriguing players in this upcoming class, should be make himself available.

• Tied for the NCAA lead (with 12 other players) for interceptions is an interesting name: South Carolina LB Skai Moore, whose three picks — two in the end zone in the opener to preserve a win over North Carolina — have been a bright spot for the Gamecocks. He’s the only linebacker with that many interceptions, although that position might not be his full-time home in the NFL. The 6-2, 214-pound Moore projects to being more of a box safety/nickel linebacker who can be effective in the passing game, and more NFL teams are seeking this type of player to round out their defense. Moore is a junior and likely wouldn’t be considered more than a mid-round pick if he did declare early, but his ball skills, playmaking knack and athleticism could make him a versatile NFL contributor in time.

• An early-season prediction never hurt anyone: Oregon DE DeForest Buckner will be drafted higher than was teammate Arik Armstead, who was drafted 17th overall this spring, and will end up with higher overall grades entering the 2016 draft than USC’s Leonard Williams did last year on many team’s boards. After a summer in which our sources say Buckner was unblockable at Ducks practices, he has carried that over to the field the first three games, ranking third on the team in tackles — quite the statement as a 3-4 end — with four of them coming for losses. We’re talking about a top-five possibility who could end up being the top defensive player drafted.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm