Matt Corral wasn’t the first QB taken in the NFL Draft. An Ole Miss teammate has some thoughts.
The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft wrapped up on Thursday with only one quarterback taken out of 32 picks.
And it wasn’t Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral.
Corral had been projected through most of the 2021 season as a top draft pick. He even slotted within the top 15 picks in the very early projections and mock drafts.
However, over the last month or so, those projections started to slide towards the bottom half of the first round. Some had Corral going early second round.
Corral — who was present at the draft in Las Vegas on Thursday — did not hear his name called in the first round and must now wait to see how quickly he may come off the board Friday night.
“They’re missing out on a good leader. They’re missing out on a hard worker,” said defensive tackle Isaiah Iton, an exclusive NIL partner with the Ole Miss Spirit.
Iton, entering his second season with the Rebels, spent his first year as a teammate of Corral’s.
While there may be some bias, Iton had strong feelings about Corral and where he viewed the quarterback’s place in this year’s draft class.
“From a quarterback perspective, I just feel like he’s the best out of the draft,” Iton continued. “Obviously I’m biased about my teammates, but they missed out a lot on Matt. He’s just different. He isn’t like everybody else. He’s real different.
“He’s always the first one there and last one out.”
Corral was among those draft prospects who were sitting in the green room backstage waiting to make that walk to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and hold up a team’s jersey with their name on it.
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That only happened for one quarterback, though. Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett will be keeping his same address, as the Steelers selected him as the 20th overall pick.
Will Corral return to the green room on Friday? He could choose to follow the route of former Rebel wide receiver DK Metcalf. Metcalf, during his own process in 2019, returned home for the second round. He eventually got the call from the Seattle Seahawks.
“Seeing (Corral), personally, I’m not discarding anybody else, but seeing personally just how he works, I feel like he’s a really good dude (and) a great guy as leader and as a quarterback,” Iton said.
Friday could be a good night for a couple of Rebels.
Defensive end Sam Williams could possibly hear his name called as well. He’s been projected as a third-rounder leading up to the weekend.
Iton has a close bond with Williams, who he said he tries to mimic his game after. Getting the chance to see Williams name flash across the screen will be a special moment for both of them.
“It’s good to see their dreams come true,” Iton said. “It’s good see, after all he’s been through, to see his dreams come true.
“I’m really happy for him.”
The NFL Draft continues on Friday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN and the NFL Network.
