Is Jets WR Malachi Corley Being Overlooked?

There is tremendous concern within the fanbase and media about the New York Jets WR room, and I completely understand why. Assuming Allen Lazard is gone, Garrett Wilson is the only proven commodity in the room and one of three WRs on the roster who have run routes in several NFL games before. I’ve seen pleas for signing Chris Godwin, a trade for D.K. Metcalf, or even the grim acceptance that Darius Slayton might be the best WR added to the room.

So that makes me ask: what happened to our “steal of the draft” Malachi Corley? Last year the media and fans alike were huge on the man they called the YAC King, who was compared to Deebo Samuel and was First-Team All-Conference USA. The only receivers with more yardage than Corley in the ’22 and ’23 collegiate seasons were the 3 that went in the top 10 of the 2024 NFL draft – so it was considered incredible value to select him 65th overall in the third round.

Corley’s game was seen as easily transferrable – his limited route tree wasn’t a big deal because his bread and butter was taking screen passes for first downs and touchdowns. This post on Malachi Corley from our very own from April 2024 outlines how it’s a combination of skill, vision, and physical ability that makes him so difficult to bring down as a ball carrier. He highlights how much muscle Corley had already put on in preparation for the draft, eager to prove that his tackle-breaking prowess against children in college would translate smoothly to the NFL full of grown men. This added even more confidence that all they needed to do was get Corley the ball in space and he’d be a nightmare for opposing defenses.

So, how did this highly-touted rookie only manage 6 targets, 3 catches for 16 yards in his first season? It’s easy to assume he sucks, add him to the monumentally long list of Jets busts and get on with your life but I’m not ready to do that. From training camp, there were reports that Rodgers favored Gipson, so he was the slot wide receiver who ran with the 1s. Even with Mike Williams out, Gipson Wilson and Lazard were the starting trio. Then Rodgers gets the team to trade for his buddy Davante Adams, who takes Corley’s number and buries him even further in the depth chart.

Perhaps if this was all that happened, more people would be willing to blame Corley’s statline 100% on Rodgers calling the shots like I am doing, but unfortunately something else happened. I just typed in ‘Malachi Corley’ on YouTube and the first thing that comes up is ‘drops ball’. Long forgotten is the fact that he very easily ran 26 yards into the endzone and displayed the vision and quickness that draft experts mentioned. The only thing fans and media remember now is that one drop, a careless mistake that was made a month later by Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and has happened countless times in the history of football without dire repercussions.

How to Move Forward

There’s a new regime now, so if there was any loyalty, it has vanished. Darren Mougey doesn’t owe Corley a thing, but I’d like to hope that if Corley is on the team this year, someone actually reads the scouting report on him and uses him correctly. The one time a play was dialed up for him during his rookie season, he gained 26 yards and ran into the endzone. One of the few coaches from the Saleh Era to survive into the Glenn Era is wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, which I’d imagine is a boost to Corley’s stock rather than a hindrance. Shawn has been seeing Corley work, knows his strengths and weaknesses, and can communicate those clearly with the new offensive staff.

Nathaniel Hackett has been on record in the middle of a season saying he didn’t know Breece Hall could catch – so it’s not at all a leap to consider the possibility that he had no idea how to get the ball to Corley in open space. Even with Todd Downing calling the plays, what designs from Hackett’s mind were in the playbook to get Corley involved? With records on everyone’s mind, Rodgers was barely even looking at Garrett Wilson down the stretch, let alone a rookie Malachi Corley. With zero reports coming out about work ethic, attitude, or ineptitude in practice, I have to wholeheartedly blame Aaron Rodgers and his friends for the numbers that Corley endured his rookie year.

The new OC, Tanner Engstrand, is coming from one of the most creative offenses in the NFL last year. We can only hope he brought some creativity to Florham Park and is ready to design plays that simply move the ball. I think we will see many more dynamic runs, screens, and quick-hitters to the best ball carriers. As much as I love Breece Hall (the last Jets jersey I’ve purchased), he does not have the strength of Malachi Corley. We know Braelon Allen is a wrecking ball, but does he have the quickness of Malachi Corley? I think the offense will be best if all of these guys are involved, in addition to the franchise receiver Garrett Wilson and whoever they decide for Tight End. That was the best part of Detroit’s offense – anyone could be atop the stat sheet on any given night.

If the Jets want to make things tough for opposing defenses and put them in a situation where they have to guess who’ll be atop the stat sheet every night then they’ll have to start giving people a chance. What do you think, am I way off-base here? Sound off below and let me know what YOU think about Malachi Corley.