NFL Draft: 3 breakout candidates ahead of the 2021 College Football season

Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss

Yes, the guy who threw six interceptions against Arkansas.

This is an example of someone who has first-round traits but is yet to put it all together. He is currently being mocked in back ends of first-round mock drafts but can be a guy who has a big year and sees his stock soar into the top-15. Currently, Matt Corral is a gun-slinging quarterback with developing decision-making. Corral believes he can make every throw on the field and interceptions will not hold him back from attempting all the throws.

His playstyle is very streaky. He will go from throwing six touchdowns a game to a game with four interceptions in two weeks. He threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama and then threw for 200 yards and six interceptions against Arkansas just a week later. Backward, isn’t it?

A gunslinging quarterback is always a fun one to watch. Gutsy throws, strong arm and they play with reckless abandon. Corral embodies all of those traits and then sprinkles some running ability with it as well. Now to address the elephant in the article, the interceptions.

Corral operates in an easy offense. Lane Kiffin likes to make things easy on his quarterback. Plenty of RPO’s and pre-snap reads that are meant to get the ball out of Corral’s hands quickly. When a quarterback runs an offense like that and still throws as many interceptions as he does, there is ample reason for concern. In 2021, he needs to show that he can read a defense and restrain himself from forcing throws. However, if he can clean that up and show progress in that area, he can easily work his way into the first round of the NFL draft in a weak quarterback class.