NFL Draft 2022 Rumors: Matt Corral's Stock Ranges from No. 1 QB to No. 5 Among Teams
April 11, 2022
Ole Miss star Matt Corral is proving to be a divisive prospect ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.
Regarding Corral, ESPN's Todd McShay said Monday on First Draft that "it's amazing talking to people in the league how varying opinions are this late in the process."
He added (starts at 34:02 mark):
"I talked to a high-ranking scout on one team who's part of the decision-making process who said, 'We're still debating Corral potentially as the first one on our board.' And this team is a team that potentially could draft a quarterback in the first few rounds. Then I talked to another team that said they had Corral as the fifth quarterback."
McShay noted that another team viewed Corral as a second-round prospect.
Corral had an uneven 2022 season.
He threw for 3,349 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions in 13 games with the Rebels. Those numbers were a little underwhelming considering he had more touchdowns (29) and nearly as many passing yards (3,337) in three fewer games in 2020.
Corral suffered an ankle injury in Ole Miss' Sugar Bowl loss to Baylor, which limited how much he was able to work out for teams leading up to the draft. The California native was at least able to participate in the Rebels' pro day and displayed some of his best traits.
Ole Miss Football @OleMissFBDeep ball 🤌<a href="https://twitter.com/corral_matt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@corral_matt</a> ➡️ <a href="https://twitter.com/b_sanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@b_sanders</a><a href="https://twitter.com/nflnetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLNetwork</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/wOC6KfpB7L">pic.twitter.com/wOC6KfpB7L</a>
SEC Network @SECNetworkMatt Corral back out there dropping dimes during <a href="https://twitter.com/OleMissFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OleMissFB</a>'s Pro Day 🎯 <a href="https://twitter.com/corral_matt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@corral_matt</a> <a href="https://t.co/1wQDcCDPYo">pic.twitter.com/1wQDcCDPYo</a>
Still, McShay's report underscores how there's far from any consensus about where Corral stands among his draft peers.
The 6'2" signal-caller is fourth on Bleacher Report's big board behind Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder, Liberty's Malik Willis and Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett. With an overall grade of 7.3, he's pegged as a third-round prospect as well.
It's not hard to see why a team might be sold on Corral. His quick release should help him cope with the increased speed of NFL defenses and shorter window to throw.
With 1,120 rushing yards across 2020 and 2021, he also possesses a level of mobility that can be used to great effect with the right offensive coordinator and head coach.
But Corral is also far from the finished product. Writing for Bleacher Report, Nate Tice described him as a "single-read QB at this point in time" and said "his ability to progress on true dropback concepts will be a question mark until proven otherwise."
Taking the gamble on Corral in the second or third round could be worth the risk. But it might be a bridge too far to select him this year with the idea of immediately throwing him into the fire and seeing whether he can be a long-term solution.