Draft day can be full of surprises and the days leading up present plenty of surprising details (and misinformation) as well, most of which should be taken with a softball-sized grain of salt.
That's perhaps how this Washington Commanders nugget should be treated: words that people are saying that may or may not have a granule of truth to them. But, still intriguing, nonetheless.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Commanders "have done a lot of research on Ole Miss' Matt Corral, researching his background from high school to college."
Straight from Fowler's ESPN Insider article: "Washington hasn't been linked to draft-eligible quarterbacks much since trading for Carson Wentz before free agency. But the word heading into draft weekend is the Commanders have done a lot of research on Ole Miss' Matt Corral, researching his background from high school to college. Washington could be looking for quarterback help on Day 2 of the draft. The Saints and Panthers also have done much homework on Corral. Some coaches were underwhelmed with his presence in team interviews, but many are high on his quick release and natural throwing ability."
Corral is certainly an intriguing quarterback prospect. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Ole Miss passer helped lead the Rebels to a 10-3 record and finished seventh in Heisman voting in 2021, throwing for 3,349 yards (67.9 completion percentage), 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.
What makes the Commanders' reported interest in Corral so intriguing is that they'd even be sniffing around passers so early in the draft. Taking Fowler's reporting at face value, one would have to presume Washington — which doesn't have a third-round pick — is eyeballing Corral as a potential second-rounder with the 47th overall selection. Their next pick (Round 4, 113th overall) doesn't arrive until day three.
Keeping that softball-sized grain of salt in mind, the Commanders sniffing around a passer on day two, if true, would have to signal they're not entirely confident in their new starting quarterback Carson Wentz, for whom they allocated substantial draft capital to acquire via their March 16 trade with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Commanders swapped second-round picks with the Colts, relinquished their third-round pick in this year's draft, plus a conditional third-round pick in next year's draft to land Wentz and a seventh-round pick (240th overall) from Indianapolis. The Commanders also took on the entirety of Wentz's remaining contract (three years, $32 million average annual value) which contains a potential out after 2022.
If the Commanders were to draft Corral, they'd essentially be repeating the move the Eagles made that paved the way for Wentz's exit in Philly (when they used a second-rounder to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020). Again, that's a big ole 'if' that could prove to be irrelevant in a matter of days, but it is intriguing.
That's how we wound up here, with Wentz throwing passes for his third team in as many years.
