Not so fast, Carolina Panthers fans. Your team hasn’t found its quarterback of the future just yet—at least not assuredly.
On Day 2 of the 2022 NFL draft, an evening that began with zero picks in hand for the franchise, the Panthers made a move to the 94th overall slot to select Ole Miss star Matt Corral. But, despite the organization’s desperate thirst for a long-term answer under center, the 23-year-old shouldn’t be heralded as the clear-cut solution.
NBC Sports scribe Peter King reminded us of that reality in his latest edition of Football Morning in America. King, in four sentences, describes a Carolina regime that keeps taking their shots rather than successfully pinpointing a surefire hit.
“Panthers keep chasing quarterbacks,” he writes. “In trading up into the low third round to take Matt Corral, Carolina dealt its third-round pick next year to New England to sweeten the deal. To me, it just continues to show the pressure from the owner to find the next quarterback. If Sam Darnold proves he’s not the guy this year and Corral is shaky in whatever 2022 opportunity he has, Carolina will be back at QB Ground Zero nine months from now—and without a ’23 third-rounder as ammo to move.”
Although the Panthers used a third-round pick on Corral that they didn’t initially have, and won’t have in 2023, it’s exactly that—just a third-round pick. It wasn’t a first-round selection, let alone a top-six one—so it’s not as if they have a heavy investment on their hands.
Corral, rather, is a calculated risk. If he winds up to be “the guy,” then good on them! Finding a franchise passer would be one heck of a return on that, wouldn’t it?
And if he doesn’t pan out, they took themselves an earnest crack at it. Plus, if you use the logic from general manager Scott Fitterer, they can even look at Corral as their 2023 third-rounder and cornerback CJ Henderson as their 2022 third-rounder.
Again, not too shabby.
But, in maintaining healthy expectations for all parties, they won’t waste too much time trying to figure that out.
