Mel Kiper, Todd McShay address Matt Corral NFL Draft stock post-injury

Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral had a tremendous season, putting together a strong campaign in his final year with the Rebels until an ankle injury hampered his NFL draft preparation.

Corral, of course, will still be drafted. In fact, he’s likely to go in the first round, as a recent ESPN Mock Draft has the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Corral in the first round, with the 20th overall selection. But after deciding to play in the Sugar Bowl rather than opting out — and proceeding to sprain his ankle in the first quarter — could his draft stock suffer a hit?

“Let’s put it this way: the ankle itself, specifically, is not going to affect his draft status,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said. “I think it’s more of a big picture with Matt Corral in terms of his play style. He likes to run the football. I mean, he had a game where he carried the ball 30 times in a game and that’s kind of who he is. He doesn’t have to win with his speed. He doesn’t have to win as a runner.

“He can win inside the pocket, he can win with his ability to extend plays. But when you’ve got an undersized quarterback who’s been dinged up and has kind of struggled — even when he’s been on the field, he hasn’t been 100 percent a lot, it’s going to be interesting to see how that affects his overall grade and where he winds up falling in this class.”

Corral showcased his skills as both a passer and runner this season at Ole Miss. He threw for 3,339 yards, while holding a 68.4 percent completion rate, and he threw for 20 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

All the while, Corral rushed for 597 yards and 11 touchdowns, including a single-game high of 195 rushing yards against Tennessee. He finished as the only FBS player with more than 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, and Corral’s was one of just three quarterbacks in the nation to throw for at least 20 touchdowns while running for at least 11 more.

“You’ve got a bigger, stronger guy in Kenny Pickett,” McShay said of the 2022 NFL Draft class. “You’ve got Malik Willis, who’s also undersized but likes to run as well. … In my opinion, it’s Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett vying for that No. 1 quarterback spot, we can get into that more as the Senior Bowl wraps up and Todd and I can exchange notes on what we saw here in Mobile and moving forward. But Matt Corral, to me, is solidly in that No. 3 quarterback spot, and I think in that middle-to-late first-round range is where he expects to go.

“Again, I don’t think Corral is going to fall necessarily because of that ankle injury, but it’s a bigger picture concern with his body type, his aggressive, running play style — how is that going to hold up in the NFL?”

Lane Kiffin: Matt Corral has all the skills to quarterback modern-day NFL offense

Matt Corral helped lead Ole Miss to a historic 10-win regular-season record, the first in program history, and catalyzed one of the most explosive offenses in the country — and now, head coach Lane Kiffin thinks he’s more than NFL ready.

Time and time again, Kiffin has made Corral’s case to be one of the first quarterbacks taken off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft. Current NFL mock drafts have Corral listed as one of the first three quarterbacks taken off the board, but the order in which Corral, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis are selected vary from one site to another.

Kiffin thinks Corral has what it takes to thrive in a modern-day NFL offense, and with the evolution of quarterback evaluation, he’s primed to be a top pick, too.

“I think he’s a great player, tremendous kid. He sees the field really well, great release and different release points,” Kiffin said on The Rich Eisen Show. “I think hand size and height — that has become less important at the quarterback position. You know, everyone was enthralled years ago for the pro-style, big, huge (quarterback). We’d all want people that looked like Carson Palmer. And now that’s changed, going all the way back to Russell Wilson. And now we’re like, OK, because of the RPOs, quick releases and not being worried about throwing from the pocket so much with deeper drops, guys that aren’t that big, I don’t think it’s much issue anymore.”

Corral, as Kiffin noted, may not have the body type of a prototypical quarterback years ago, listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. However, in a fast-paced modern-day offense that relies heavily on quarterback mobility, Corral seems as good a prospect as an NFL team will find.

Corral was labeled a four-star recruit in the 2018 class by the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, making him the No. 6 quarterback in the class. And the redshirt junior — who’s started for two-and-a-half seasons at Ole Miss — had his best year when it mattered most.

Ahead of his entry to the 2022 NFL Draft, Corral put together a well-rounded campaign at Ole Miss, showcasing his skills as both a passer and runner. He threw for 3,339 yards this year while holding a 68.4 percent completion rate, and he threw for 20 touchdowns with just four interceptions. All the while, Corral rushed for 597 yards and 11 touchdowns, including a single-game high of 195 rushing yards against Tennessee. He finished as the only FBS player with more than 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, and Corral’s was one of just three quarterbacks in the nation to throw for at least 20 touchdowns while running for at least 11 more.

Corral won a myriad of awards while leading Ole Miss to 10 regular-season wins. He was named the Conerly Trophy Winner, while finishing as a finalist for the Manning Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, to name a few.