3 things Matt Corral must improve to win Panthers starting job in 2022
By Dean Jones
Matt Corral must improve pre-snap recognition
Another area where Matt Corral will need some work is pre-snap recognition. There were times at Ole Miss when the quarterback failed to distinguish efficiently what the defense was throwing at him and although it did improve over time, the NFL is a completely different ball game.
Corral needs to get up to speed quickly regarding pro-style concepts within Ben McAdoo’s scheme. His time at the Rebels consisted of mostly run-pass option plays, so it’s going to take a period of adjustment if the signal-caller wants to contend immediately for the starting job.
Much has been made about Corral’s low score on the Wonderlic test. But that shouldn’t be much of concern when it comes to the crunch and he’ll also have the benefit of working with McAdoo and quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan closely – two respected figures that have seen it all in the game.
The Carolina Panthers will likely want to see what Corral can do at some stage during the season. Influential figures within the organization must find out what they have in the player before the 2023 NFL Draft, where they could be picking high enough to select an elite prospect from what looks to be an exceptional class at the position.
This will be an ongoing process for Corrall throughout the offseason. How he copes with all this information will go a long way to determining his immediate fate.