Carolina Panthers sign first rookie to contract from 2022 NFL Draft

The first of the draftees from the 2022 NFL Draft has been inked to their contract. On Monday, the Panthers opened the floodgates, as Carolina signed their sixth round pick — former Virginia Tech pass rusher Amare Barno — to his first NFL deal.

“Amaré Barno appears to do everything at a high rate of speed. Including paperwork,” announced the franchise. “The Panthers’ sixth-round pick (189th overall) became the first draft pick in the league to agree to terms this morning and sign his rookie deal on Tuesday afternoon.”

According to the Panthers, Barno signed the standard four-year deal rookies have become accustomed to.

At the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, the Panthers sixth-round selection was the fastest defensive lineman in the class. Now, he’s finished first among all rookie when it comes to signing his rookie contract.

In addition to Amare Barno, Carolina put together a solid class, even with a minimum number of high selection. In the first round, the Panthers landed hulking former NC State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu, and even got a highly-touted quarterback in former Ole Miss star Matt Corral in the third round.

You can expect the Panthers to sign the rest of their class next week, as we get closer to rookie minicamp.

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Moreover, the Carolina Panthers made headlines with their third round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, selecting Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral. The Panthers likely selected him because of a strong final college season with the Rebels, where his production remained high despite personnel losses from the 2020 season.

The Panthers traded the No. 137 overall pick and a future third-rounder to the New England Patriots for the No. 94 pick.

Corral entered the draft projected as a top-5 quarterback, with concerns about his physical attributes seeming to lower his draft stock. Despite these concerns, analysts are all agreed on the type of leadership Corral brings to the field and the competitor that he is. The lasting image from a phenomenal stretch as quarterback for Ole Miss was Corral standing alongside his teammates on crutches after suffering a high-ankle sprain during their bowl game — still leading the team.

Corral was a former four-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. Corral was the fifth-highest rated quarterback of the 2018 recruiting class.

In 2020, Corral had his breakout season and led the FBS in total offense with 384.3 yards per game. He ranked top-ten in passing efficiency, touchdowns and yards in his 10 starts — and was a Manning Award finalist. In their Outback Bowl win over Indiana, Corral threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. His final season saw him finish seventh in Heisman Trophy voting in a season where he threw for 3,349 yards and 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions — as well as rushing for another 11 touchdowns.