Eagles Rumors: Matt Corral the Only QB Scheduled to Visit Philly Ahead of NFL Draft

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Ahead of the 2022 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles have maintained that Jalen Hurts will be the team's starter next season. Their reported approach to the quarterbacks in this year's draft class seems to back that up. 

According to Albert Breer of SI.com, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral has "scheduled a Wednesday visit with the Eagles, and that one at least interests me, maybe because it's the only quarterback whom I've heard Philly is bringing in."

It would make sense for the Eagles to hold off on the quarterback position for at least another season, giving them another year to decide if Hurts can be a franchise quarterback.

Next year's class of quarterbacks is considered a stronger group than this year's bunch, and the Eagles could use their two first-round picks this year to retool a roster that is transitioning from a veteran core to one built around young players like DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Jordan Mailata, among others. 

But an alternative approach might be to see which quarterbacks fall to the second day of the NFL draft. If the Eagles are high on a player like Corral and he falls to them, taking a flier on him would make sense. They did so with Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft with Carson Wentz still on the roster—a decision that proved to be savvy. 

That would give them a backup plan to Hurts in the short term and a developmental project in the long term. And it wouldn't prevent them from taking an elite prospect next year—the Eagles have never been averse to flipping a backup quarterback for trade capital down the road. 

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As for Corral, he divides opinion. The B/R Scouting Department has him ranked 73rd on its big board, putting him firmly in the Day 2 mix. 

The NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah is higher on Corral, ranking him 35th on his latest big board and writing that he has "excellent athleticism and a strong arm" with "an intriguing skill set, but the size (6'2" and 212 pounds) combined with his play style is a concern."

While ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. doesn't have Corral on his latest list of top-25 players, he does believe he's the No. 3 quarterback in the Class of 2022 behind Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett. He also projected the Detroit Lions to select Corral No. 32 overall in his latest mock draft.

Unless the Eagles love Corral, it's hard to see him ending up in Philly unless he falls to them in the second round. Even then, the Eagles have enough needs to address that quarterback may not be a priority.

Hosting Corral for a visit may simply be the Eagles putting out a smoke screen, hoping to entice a quarterback-needy team below them to overpay in a trade up the board. However, the Eagles only get 30 such visits, so they likely have at least some interest in Corral. 

Still, if the Eagles are going to use a first- or second-round pick on a quarterback, it seems more likely to be in 2023.