The QB1 debate in the 2022 NFL Draft is a hot topic right now. Although a weaker QB class, no one is quite sure who will be the 1st off the board. Some think Pickett, others think Willis, a few think Corral. Today, I will be comparing my QB1 and QB2 of the class, Pickett and Corral, to find out who each team should take.
Accuracy
Pickett flashes elite ball placement over and over again in the intermediate game, constantly hitting 20 yard crossing patterns with ease. While the deep ball is inconsistent, he has some crazy accurate throws down the seam, putting it just out of reach for the DBs covering the receiver. The short accuracy is also top tier. Corral, while inconsistent, is putting the ball in the perfect spot when he’s feeling it. Maybe with more experience throwing the ball deeper it goes to Corral, but accuracy has to go to Pickett. He’s just more consistent.
Arm strength
I feel like people sleep on Pickett’s arm talent. The narrative right now is his arm is avergae/below average, but I’d disagree with that. He has nice velocity and really good touch on his lofted throws. He may not have special arm talent, but it’s harsh to say he’s on the bottom half of QBs in that regard. However, Corral’s arm is crazy. He throws the ball with very high velocity and can absolutely bomb it deep, on the rare occasion he does. Corral takes it
Pocket presence
This is something both QBs can struggle with. Pickett, while showing the ability to climb the pocket and moving around to find throwing lanes, sometimes bails on a clean pocket, leading to clean up sacks or taking potential big plays out of the picture. Since Corral runs a heavy RPO scheme, he rarely gets to show his pocket presence, and maybe that’s for the better. He often bails pockets too early and rarely shows the ability to navigate inside the pocket. Pickett takes it.
Mechanics
There is no debate here. Pickett’s mechanics are easily the best in the class. His footwork is perfect, can make all the throws (on the run, set feet, stepping into throws, etc.), and has a beautiful throwing motion. His mechanics are a big reason why his accuracy is so good. Corral, while having a super quick release, doesn’t have the footwork of an NFL caliber QB.
Athleticism
Pickett is a great athlete. He’s big, strong, and fast. Besides his arm strength, this is his most sept on trait IMO. I think he’ll run in the low 4.6 range. For comparison, Watson ran a 4.66, Newton ran a 4.59, and Russ ran a 4.55. Corral, however, is an insane athlete. He’s powerful, twitchy, and very fast. Corral clears
NFL Ready
Again, no debate. Pickett successfully ran a pro style offense that featured heavy amounts of 5 wide, forcing him to read the field. Pickett’s reads the field very well and while he tends to play it safe when he has something open deep, that’s better than forcing a pick and in general has great decision making. Corral is not NFL ready at all. Ran a super heavy RPO offense, meaning he only needed to make one read, making him super inexperienced with a pro style offense. As of right now, Corral can’t read the field and go through progressions at all and decision making is inconsistent at best. Pickett steamrolls Corral here.
The verdict
While Corral has a very high ceiling due to his athleticism and arm strength, Pickett is the QB1 of this class over him due to great accuracy, elite mechanics, and his ability of running a pro style offense. If you want to see a scouting report on both of these QBs, make sure to follow @draft_reports on IG, as they are both up right now on that account.
Responses
Excited to see these guys in the league