NFL Draft: Matt Corral is a Master of Manipulation

The Ole Miss leader may be the first quarterback off the board, and his ability to manipulate defenses at all three levels is a special skill.

Jordan Pun | Dec 11, 2021

NFL Draft: Matt Corral is a Master of Manipulation /

In this story:

Ole Miss Quarterback Matt Corral Video Breakdown

The Ole Miss leader may be the first quarterback off the board, and his ability to manipulate defenses at all three levels is a special skill. — The Ole Miss leader may be the first quarterback off the board, and his ability to manipulate defenses at all three levels is a special skill

"If you're around this kid, he is a special person, kid, leader. I just love being around him." Those are the words Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin chose to describe star quarterback Matt Corral, and it's those intangible qualities that will entice NFL teams into believing in him as their franchise leader.

READ MATT CORRAL'S SCOUTING REPORT HERE

When analyzing Corral's 2022 NFL Draft stock, you must begin with his leadership and competitive qualities. Corral does the little things like organizing 5:30 a.m. practices for the quarterback group before team practice even starts. He also rallies the team when adversity strikes, like during his locker room speech to refocus his teammates during a delay in their game against Tennessee. Additionally, Corral displays his elite competitive toughness, fighting through a left ankle injury for a month and a half and continuing to play for his teammates because "Those guys definitely deserve something from me."

Matt Corral was asked about playing through injury despite an NFL future waiting around the corner and the risk of further injury. Here is what he said. pic.twitter.com/Mn19oZZOAw
— Michael Katz (@MichaelLKatz) November 6, 2021

That impressive competitiveness is evident with Corral's playing style on the field too. He is fearless as a runner, willing to put his body on the line on any given play. Of course, he needs to find a balance of lowering his shoulder and sliding to avoid future injuries, but it's hard not to love Corral's desire to tote the rock like a running back.

Corral has a lanky frame and certainly won't be mistaken for having Lamar Jackson's speed and dynamic elusiveness, but he fights for every yard, shows vision and creation ability as a runner and can be an asset to any NFL team's run game. Through 12 games in 2021, he's rushed 145 times for 597 yards and an eye-popping 11 touchdowns. Getting him involved on read-options and quarterback draws - especially in the red zone - would be a great way to utilize one of Corral's strengths.

While generating yards on the ground is extremely beneficial for modern quarterbacks, they are still expected to operate through the air, and Corral mainly has been quite effective at doing so. After throwing 14 interceptions in 10 games last season, Corral has deflated that statistic to just four picks in 12 games, showing improved decision making.

Furthermore, despite his injury, missing two of his three starting receivers, the top two tight ends on Ole Miss' depth chart and having a game of musical chairs on the offensive line, Corral has produced impressive numbers: 3,333 passing yards, 68% completion percentage and 20 touchdown passes.

This ability to elevate lesser talent is rare for NFL quarterbacks, let alone college quarterbacks and Corral should be lauded for his strong season. He has many strengths as a passer that will benefit his transition to the NFL: strong arm to make all the throws, pocket presence and management, processing defenses post-snap, and can manipulate defenses at all three levels that make him unique.

This trait is a special one and deserves to be highlighted. Let's start with Corral's manipulation in the quick game, where Lane Kiffin installed his bread and butter RPO (run-pass option) concepts to put defenses in assignment conflicts and gain easy yardage. Corral is like a perfectly programmed robot when making these reads, and he is masterful at executing the simple play.

During Week Five at home versus Arkansas, Corral shows the value of marrying the run and pass game. Ole Miss comes out in a typical passing formation, shotgun, 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers), and looks to spread out the defense. Arkansas matches with a 3-3-5 defensive package (three linemen, three linebackers, five defensive backs) to play the pass. With only six defenders in the box, those linebackers need to respect a run, as they do not have a numbers advantage (Ole Miss has five offensive linemen and a tight end as another potential blocker).

Corral makes these aggressive linebackers pay by manipulating them into thinking the run is coming. It's subtle, but Corral elongates his fake handoff at the mesh point and holds onto the ball for long enough to get linebackers 27 and 31 to take three steps towards the running back. This opens up space in the middle of the field for the tight end to run free for a first down and negates the advantage Arkansas intended to have versus the pass.

Corral also shows this ability to manipulate defenses on a popular quick game NFL concept called "Mesh." Ole Miss is in 11 personnel again, but instead of spreading out the defense, they run a condensed split, with all four receiving threats close to the offensive tackles.

"Mesh" ideally creates an open look versus man or zone coverage as the two underneath "drag" routes - run by Chase Rogers (#83) and Qua Davis (#84) - can beat man, and the middle curl route - run by Dontrario Drummond (#11) - can beat zone.

Arkansas plays zone coverage here, with five deep zones and three underneath zones. Corral expertly brings his eyes and shoulders to his right, acting like he wants to throw to Davis. This deception manipulates linebacker #27 to move out of his middle hook zone and vacate space for Drummond's curl.

The RPO and quick game make up a large portion of Corral's throwing diet - hence his 8.8 yards/attempt being lower than in 2020, where he averaged 10.1 yards/attempt. Make no mistake, though, Corral can push the ball downfield, and if he and the rest of the offense were more healthy, we likely would've seen more of that this year.

Corral expertly uses his eyes and body language to sell short throws and does the same on intermediate concepts. On this play, Corral sells the Bubble-Go to his slot receiver John Rhys Plumlee (#10) beautifully, thanks to his eyes and pump fake.

Corral's ability to understand defensive rules based on the situation is what makes his manipulative pump fakes so devastating. On this 3rd and 4, Corral knows defenders will be sitting on underneath routes at the sticks. Therefore he can sell the Stutter and Go route to Drummond (#11) down the sideline and create space for the intermediate throw.

That pump fake is a common trend when watching Corral sling the rock, and he can maximize it when attacking deep, the third area of the field where Corral manipulates defenses. In Week Two at home versus Austin Peavy, the lone Ole Miss receiver runs a "Sluggo" or Slant-and-Go to the field side. Corral has connected on plenty of these throughout his career, so the defense is ready for it. Austin Peavy calls a Cover 6 coverage, with the field cornerback and safety in quarters coverage and the boundary safety in a deep half zone. The beauty of this coverage is that the field defenders can essentially double team the "Sluggo."

However, the "Sluggo" is only one part of the play, and Corral shows numerous valuable quarterback traits on this one play alone. First is his ability to manipulate the defense with his eyes towards the "Sluggo," which draws the field cornerback and both safeties in that direction. The second is his ability to read the defense post-snap and not force a throw into double coverage, something he struggled with during 2020. The third is his willingness to work through his progressions while maneuvering the pocket to create a better throwing angle. This play culminates in immense defensive attention towards the "Sluggo," thus, the deep half zone to the boundary is vacated, and Jonathan Mingo (#1) is wide open for the touchdown.

The last thing to discuss about this play and Corral's game is his deep ball accuracy. The above throw was underthrown, and without all of Corral's hard work to set up his wide-open receiver, this likely isn't a touchdown. It speaks to a larger issue in Corral's game and the next step he needs to take to improve.

Corral's deep ball accuracy is inconsistent. He's got a strong arm, but distance and velocity only matter if you can accurately connect with your receivers. Throughout Corral's film, numerous examples display underthrows and misplaced throws towards the defender rather than away from the defender. Corral's deep balls occasionally ask his receivers to make adjustments and more difficult catches than they should have to make.

Sometimes Corral's mechanics look good, but he still misses, like in the first play below. Other times, Corral has a narrow base and can't step into his throw because of pressure in his face, like in the second play below.

The main pattern contributing to these deep misses has been Corral's base. He can get heel-clicky when taking his drop and is very "toesy" in the pocket, distributing his weight on the front of his cleats rather than having all cleats in the ground, thus reducing his balance, strength and consistency.

The good thing about this improvement area is that it is fixable. Far more fixable than improving arm strength, becoming more athletic, or learning how to manipulate defenses - which Corral already possesses, but not every quarterback does. Furthermore, Corral's growth from 2020 to 2021 should give NFL teams confidence in their ability to target his weaknesses and improve upon them. Therefore, his deep ball inaccuracy should be recognized, but it is not a big enough reason to substantially lower Corral on draft boards.

The quarterback group in the 2022 NFL Draft has been ridiculed as a weak class, but Corral is no slouch. He will be in high contention for the first quarterback off the board and has a great resume for that honor. He may not be as polished as some teams would like for a top 5-10 pick, but it's his competitiveness, leadership and work ethic that should provide belief in Corral becoming the best version of himself and a franchise quarterback. Corral's taken a big jump from 2020, dealt with injury adversity in 2021 and will be manipulating NFL defenses in 2022 and on.

*Go All Access - Subscribe to NFL Draft Bible today and receive a one-year subscription to Sports Illustrated the magazine, for FREE!