The one thing that is nagging at me about our QB pick...

[Proudiddy]

Don't get me wrong, I was going to be excited about the potential to develop any one of the guys that were available in the draft, outside of probably Pickett.  But, really, where we picked and what was available at the time, it really comes down to Corral versus Howell.  And again, to be clear, I was going to be excited about developing either...  but, the one thing that bothers me most about picking Corral over Howell is that ever since the team ran Cam into the ground and injured his shoulder, we have struggled the most with the deep ball.  And sure, teams can run functional offenses without it, but they never teach their full potential without it, imo.  If you can't take the top off of a defense and make them respect your ability to do so, it shrinks the field and makes the defense have to work a lot less.  It simplifies things for them to take away what you want to do.  Look at the best offense in the league, and the among the things they do best is stretch the field...

Now, back to Corral and Howell.  One of the biggest things that stood out to me about Howell was all of the various scouting reports I read on him emphasized one of his greatest strengths is his deep ball.  Many said he was the best deep ball passer in this draft.  I also read he tended to struggle with his accuracy in the short and intermediate the more anticipation the throws required...  on the flipside, I have read repeatedly that Corral is wildly erratic with his deep ball passing.  

Each guy has their strengths that excite you, and their weaknesses that scare you.  I love Corral's guts, grit, his lightning fast release, his creativity with his athleticism and legs to evade defenders and make plays as a runner, the zip on some of his throws, and he seems to be one of those contagious leaders that teammates just love.  His injury history and frame scare the poo out of me, and the inaccuracy issues on deep throws just doesn't sit well with me at all either.

With Howell, I also love his guts and grit, his arm, his ability to make plays as a runner as well (although not as impressive as Corral's), and obviously his deep ball accuracy.  He can and does literally make all of the throws.  And as a fellow Tar Heel, he has the going for him...  and regardless of how anyone feels with personal favorites or allegiances, it is still absolutely shocking that a guy who coming into 2021 was viewed as a Heisman favorite and was projecting to be a possible #1 overall pick, and at the very least the top QB of the class, lost multiple NFL playmakers from his offense and had to be the entire offense for UNC in 2021, has a tough year and slides all the way to the 5th round.  That is just unbelievable.  I honestly don't see how he slipped that far, and outside of his smaller stature, I don't really see the potential negatives as a passer that I see with Corral.  As a player, if you ignore his lack of height, he looks like the superior pure passer.

Now, back to the concerns...  I get that McAdoo runs a more WCO and wants a good balance with the run game.  But the thing that troubles me with this plan, which is essentially what we proclaimed we were trying to do under Brady.  Now, with the incredible improvements we've made on the OL, that system may actually function now...  but, people like pointing to McAdoo's success with GB and NY to a lesser degree...  in both of those instances, he had a QB who could throw it deep, with Rodgers obviously being one of, if not the best in the league at it.  If Corral can't effectively provide that threat, I worry about the ceiling that places on our offense, because eventually it puts us right back where we've been the last 3+ seasons.  I'm just not a fan of the dink and dunk garbage, because eventually the defenses compression the field and we've seen how ugly it can get when your QB can't threaten them downfield - like Darnold's entire game played without a first down.  

So, all that being said, to me, the QB being able to throw it downfield accurately is one of the most important, if not THE most important aspect of an elite offense.  All of the other stuff must be effective, but is all for naught if you can't stretch the field and stress the defense with your multiplicity.  So, the fact that to this point, this issue has been one of the biggest areas Corral has struggled with is a definite concern for me.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't intended to be a "negative nancy" post.  I'm excited about Corral.  I'm just concerned about the deep ball passing, especially when juxtaposed with what Howell offered as a passer had we chose him at that pick.  I hope we can coach him up and get that part of his game consistent and legitimate as a threat on any given play.

 

[WarPanthers89]

McAdoo had Corral as QB1 in the draft. We got exactly who we wanted and It could not have played out better for what the STAFF wanted. We shall see if they were correct and if it pays off, but to risk only a 3rd round pick for a QB you had a first round grade on you take 10/10 times. I don’t know how McAdoo will turn out as our coordinator, but I do trust his judgment on QB’s.

[Proudiddy]

1 minute ago, WarPanthers89 said:

McAdoo had Corral as QB1 in the draft. We got exactly who we wanted and It could not have played out better for what the STAFF wanted. We shall see if they were correct and if it pays off, but to risk only a 3rd round pick for a QB you had a first round grade on you take 10/10 times. I don’t know how McAdoo will turn out as our coordinator, but I do trust his judgment on QB’s.

Agreed.  And that is what is really carrying me through overwhelmingly excited about how everything played out with our draft.  You can't beat drafting a guy in the 3rd that you potentially would've taken at 6 overall and had as the number one QB in the draft, at the most important position in football.  Again, I am super excited about Corral, and as you said, trust McAdoo'a evaluations of QBs - he has a great track record when it comes to that.  So I will trust it.  Just voicing the thing that concerns me just from the eye test in watching both Corral and Howell.  Not saying Matt can't or doesn't make the deep throws...  it's can he do it consistently.

[Jon Snow]

 

[JawnyBlaze]

I think wildly inaccurate on deep throws is a gross exaggeration. Some get away from him but from what I’ve seen (and heard from most sources) he’s still accurate deep, just not as needle threading as short and intermediate. 

[LinvilleGorge]

I'm numb to the Panthers making bad decisions at QB. I hope Corral isn't yet another one.

[Proudiddy]

22 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I'm numb to the Panthers making bad decisions at QB. I hope Corral isn't yet another one.

I don't mean to overstate my concerns, because I actually think they're coachable and even as-is, not horrible.  All things considered, I without a doubt think coming in, he's the best rookie QB in our franchise history after Cam.  Now there's a big gap between Cam and Corral, but Cam was a generational talent.  There's a lot of Corral that reminds me of Jake, in a good way.  There's a lot to be excited about.

[WOW!!]

I was a Howell guy and still think he was the most consistent producers in this QB class.. With Corral right behind him.. 

But we might have to admit maybe we were wrong...

Corral was Atleast consistently ranked 1 2 or 3 in the QB prospect rankings.. Howell wasn't.. And the league has spoken.. 32 teams passed on him 6x ...

[Adb6368]

Counterpoint: we didn’t have a deep ball threat with bridgewater because he literally could not throw the ball further than 15 yards with his noodle arm and glove. Darnold didn’t have a deep ball because he was scared of getting his head taken off before the wife receivers could even get 15 yards down the field. 

hopefully both of those issues are fixed with our new OL and QB

[WOW!!]

How the fug Did Baily Zappe get drafted before Howell?? I just looked that up and I'm flabbergasted and confused..

Seriously Howell was drunk  high and grabbing dudes wives in his team interviews..

[Proudiddy]

1 minute ago, WOW!! said:

How the fug Did Baily Zappe get drafted before Howell?? I just looked that up and I'm flabbergasted and confused..

Seriously Howell was drunk  high and grabbing dudes wives in his team interviews..

I think it really came down to the size.  Just my guess.  It's still crazy because as I mentioned, going into last season he was projected as the top QB of the class and possibly a #1 overall pick...  that's a huge fall based off one season.  But, it'll be interesting to see how it all pans out because as the stats have beared out, even the professional talent evaluators aren't all that great at finding and hitting on QBs.  Maybe all these 3rd round and lower drafted guys prove them all wrong this time around?  At least that's what I'm hoping.

[mc52beast]

On the bright side; if both Sam and Matt suck we have a great shot at picking in the top 3 next year. 

[Fright]

Accurate dink and dunk passes set up the deep ball. Not vice versa. Don’t let the long bomb highlights make you think otherwise. 
 

We got who we wanted and that leaves 0 excuses heading into the year. That alone makes me happy. 

[Basbear]

I spent one weekend doing draft research- The only player I soured on was Sam Howell. Just awful and his body was even worse. He does not handle adversity at all. Im a UNC fan btw, and many months ago thought of him at #6. Posted this many times and UNC homers laughed hardcore. League spoke- 5th rounder, after punters, kickers, 7th QB picked.....

According to reports- panthers thought highly of Howell, had him close to Corral. Im super glad they picked Corral.