Behind the Pick: How the Panthers Ended Up with Matt Corral

After several conversations with Cleveland, the Panthers landed on drafting a QB instead.

Coming into the weekend, Panthers GM Scott Fitterer promised he would deliver a new quarterback to the organization and he did so by trading up into the third round to select Matt Corral out of Ole Miss. 

Getting a quarterback on a rookie contract that you can develop and build a team around is the most ideal situation but it doesn't always work out that way. In fact, for the Panthers, it almost didn't. The Cleveland Browns tried to do everything they could to send Baker Mayfield to the Panthers. The deeper things got in the draft and with Malik Willis and Desmond Ridder coming off the board, the Browns' chances of pulling off a deal became slim to none. 

In order for any deal between Carolina and Cleveland regarding Mayfield, the Browns were going to have to pay a huge chunk of his 2022 salary, which they knew going into it. Unfortunately for them, they were not comfortable paying as much as the Panthers wanted them to which was likely the entire $18 million, or very close to it. In addition to the salary talks, the Panthers front office and coaching staff were divided on bringing in Mayfield. Some felt like it wasn't beneficial in any way for the future of the franchise. At that moment, Fitterer stopped the conversations with Andrew Berry and began to find ways to move back into the third round. 

Finally, the Panthers found a dance partner in the New England Patriots sending them the 137th pick (4th round) and a 2023 third rounder to move up to No. 94 overall to take Corral. Following the first round of the draft, Fitterer stated that he would rather not deal any future picks, if possible. So why was he so comfortable with moving a future three in this instance? 

He explains.

"You know that there is a lot of value in there and we did need to add to it this weekend. It became very apparent. I think we did not want to move 1 and 2. Absolutely did not want to move. That’s why we were trying to be so patient not to give those up in the future. At three you can recoup but at one and two, you’re really hitting from behind. That’s hard to do. I thought as a group, all of our scouts and coach and Mr. Tepper did a good job of staying firm and not dipping into one or two."

With other quarterbacks such as Sam Howell (North Carolina) and Bailey Zappe (Western Kentucky) still on the board, they could have waited to take one of those guys in the fourth. The feeling is that they would have been fine with either of those but the ceiling of Howell and Zappe isn't quite as high as Corral's.

"You know, one of things that really stood out the most beside from the physical traits was the competitiveness and the toughness of him," said Fitterer. "I mean the guy took a pounding, he kept getting up, kept getting up. He does run the ball and when he runs, he tries to run guys over. He has to learn you can’t do that but it does show his competitive nature. And then, when it just comes to the physical traits, the quick release, the mobility, the ability to get out and run, throw on the run, he sees the field well, he processes quickly. So all those things really stood out to us. And I know Coach has his opinion on that."

For head coach Matt Rhule, Corral's quick release and work ethic are what stood out to him most. This is a guy that he knows won't be ready from the day he lands in Carolina but with time, could become the face of the franchise for years to come. 

"I think you look at guys who play at that level, this is a young man who has been a five star recruit, played at some of the best programs in California. Came to Ole Miss, elevated them to levels that they haven’t been at, played in the SEC, played against decorated programs. I think as Scott said, probably the quickest release you’ve seen in a quarterback in quite some time. Fearlessness with which he plays with. Jeff Lebby, his offensive coordinator, who’s now at Oklahoma, a guy that I know well, talked about his work ethic, coming in at 6 a.m., staying ‘til he was not there, until the end of the night, just constantly working at his game. For a young developmental quarterback coming into this league, I think he’s got all of the physical tools and he also seems to have the mental makeup. So we are excited to get to be able to work with him."

When hit with the question of how the competition at quarterback will go, Rhule was quick to tab Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback. Sure, another move may be made in the near future and Fitterer said there is "no absolute" on anything, but it seems like the front office and the coaching staff feel comfortable moving forward with Darnold as the opening week starter with Corral and P.J. Walker backing him up. 

"If we go play tomorrow, Sam Darnold would be our quarterback," Rhule said. "We just drafted Matt. The transition from college to the NFL is really hard and over the last couple years, guys trying to make that transition in the first year trying to play right away hasn’t been very successful. When you look at the Tom Bradys, the Aaron Rodgers. If you think about it, it's amazing. This is the only position in sports where the best players are over the age of 35. Even in golf, the best players are 20, 22, 23. In the National Football League, the quarterback position, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, they’re 35, 38, 40. Mr. Brady is 44. It’s amazing because it is experience. I say all of that to say we will always be a competition based place. Like the best players will play and we will do our best to have no agendas. But in a perfect world, Matt coming from a dynamic, fun, spread offense that he was in with (Ole Miss Head) Coach (Lane) Kiffin, with Jeff Lebby, coming to the National Football League, the differences in the game, it’s going to take some time. Sometimes when you take those guys at 6, the pressure is so great to put them on the field, they can get ruined. I think this is the most amazing opportunity for a guy that we think has first‐round talent, who has played at a high level, to come in here, grow his body, develop his body, learn under Sam, learn under PJ (Walker), two tremendous professional players. Learn the system from the ground up with Ben (McAdoo) and whenever that time is that he is ready to play, he will get his opportunity. I’m still expecting Sam and PJ to show up on Monday with a great look in their eye. No one wants to give up their job in this league so he’s not walking in Day 1 and he’s the starter. Sam is our starter but we will compete. That is one of the goals, hey, let’s bring some competition in on the offensive line, let’s bring some competition in at the quarterback position and let these guys go battle it out."

For Corral, the past 48 hours have been a total roller coaster. There was some thought that a team could fall in love with him and take him in the first round but it almost seemed impossible that he fell to where he did, much like the slide of Malik Willis. When I spoke to Corral on Friday night after being drafted, he felt that his nasty ankle injury was going to be a problem for teams in the draft process and to a certain extent, it did.

"Man 100%. I definitely thought it was going to affect my draft status. You know that wasn’t the first thing that came into my mind, but it was definitely the top three. As soon as that injury happened, I grabbed my ankle and just felt the pain and my first reaction was my family. This whole thing about me trying to put them in a better position. Trying to give them something that they have never experienced before. Secondly, was my position in the draft status and being able to actually give myself an opportunity to display my talents. Playing and being an NFL quarterback is something I have wanted to do since I was six years old. I am blessed, truly. I am at a loss for words that I am actually sitting here talking to you guys. I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work and actually play the game of football. I am itching to get back out there."

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