As we approach the end of the college football season, the NFL season is heating up heading into the final third of the season. Playoff races are heating up, and teams are trying to fight for the coveted one seed in each conference.

Former Gamecocks are helping some of these teams make their final pushes into the postseason.

Here are some former Gamecocks to watch this week: 

Jared Cook 

The Saints are sitting pretty at the top of the NFC. However, they’re only one game ahead and if the Packers go up by one more win, the Saints will lose their top spot.

Cook hasn’t been the same since Drew Brees suffered a rib injury. Taysom Hill isn’t your typical “sling it” quarterback. Cook has only had six yards in the last three games.

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He’s going up against a Falcon defense which held an elite tight end, Darren Waller, and the Raiders to only six points last week.

The Saints need to be creative if they don’t want to get upset, and that means getting Cook involved somehow. 

Deebo Samuel 

Samuel had a career game last week. He silenced the Rams’ defense with a 100+ yard performance.

The 49ers are 5-6, but they’re still contending for a wild card spot. They have an extremely tough matchup against the Bills.

Deebo plays in the slot a lot, so he most likely won’t be shadowed by Tre’davious White.

This means that Deebo should get a lot of production since the Bills have a bottom half defense this year. 

Javon Kinlaw 

Kinlaw has been good this year, but it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. He had his first NFL defensive touchdown this year, but he’s been best at creating quarterback pressures this year.

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Kinlaw will help the 49ers try to pull off the upset against the 8-3 Bills.

With a less than average offensive line, the BIlls could have trouble dealing with Kinlaw this week. 

Conclusion

These are just a few players who are in key positions this week. There are a few players like Hayden Hurst and Damiere Byrd who I want to watch, but neither the Falcons or Patriots will make the playoffs this year.

There isn’t a lot of football left, so let’s enjoy watching football while we have it. Somehow we’ve still made it through this pandemic, so let’s all enjoy some football this weekend.