Corey Davis Ruled Out, Mims Season in Session

Robert Saleh announced today that Corey Davis has been ruled out of the game against Buffalo on Sunday as he recovers from his knee injury. It’ll be the second game that Davis misses this year after sustaining the injury against Denver.

It’s somewhat surprising to see Davis ruled out for the second week in a row considering he was cleared by the Jets medical staff to return in the Denver game, with the Jets coaching staff making the decision to hold him out...which seems to be prudent considering.

It’s a shame for Davis who was limited to just 9 games in his debut season with the Jets, the former Titans receiver may have only caught 19 passes this year but he’s also been used on a lot of routes to clear out safeties and create space for the likes of Wilson, not to mention his run blocking on the outside.

Davis’s loss will be Denzel Mim’s gain, as the third-year player looks to continue to build on his performances. In his press conference today, Coach Saleh spoke glowingly about Mims and how something clicked around three weeks ago, saying that he’s earned a bigger role even when Corey Davis returns to the lineup, which is expected after the bye week.

I’m not going to sit here and say that Mims has exploded onto the scene but he’s quietly had a very impressive start, catching 3 of his 5 targets for 80 yards. His 63-yard catch against New England showed what he was capable of, he had 47 yards after contact last Sunday with most of them coming on that catch.

The Raw numbers don’t really tell the whole story though. The catch he caught out of bounds against New England was an outstanding grab and had Zach led Denzel instead of throwing it to the back shoulder it’s likely that Mims would be celebrating his first NFL touchdown. Mims was the one that sprung Breece Hall for the long touchdown against Denver and his attitude to pass-blocking is evident on every snap.

One thing that’s gone a little unnoticed over the last two games is how the Jets have been willing to move Denzel around. Although he’s predominantly played that wide role, he’s spent 19.1% of his snaps in the slot, something he didn’t really do at Baylor (4.4% of total snaps came in the slot). The Jets are using him in the slot to try and create some mismatches, and hopefully, we see that continue on Sunday against New England.

We can’t forget that Mims requested a trade in the summer, upset by his lack of playing time. However, by all accounts, he’s had an outstanding attitude throughout the season and as his understanding of the system has improved, so has his confidence. During pre-season Mike LaFleur mentioned that Mims was becoming more vocal in meetings and that usually comes with confidence.

Mims explained last week that his trade request is still on the table, but the trade deadline came and went without a move for #11, the rest of the season will largely dictate his future with the Jets. Mims is signed through the 2023 season at a cap hit of just $1,728,903, as much as I like Corey Davis and think he’s an underrated member of the team, his cap hit next year sits at $11,166,668, if Mims can prove that he can fill that Corey role it opens up options for the Jets. Joe Douglas could cut Corey with the Jets taking a hit of just $666,668 of dead money.

We’re a long way away from that and Mims still has a lot to prove, but it’s worth keeping in the back of your minds. For me, I’m excited to see what Mims can do. He’s done everything the Jets have asked of him and his trade request has been handled well by all parties. I’d expect to see Mims targeted often this weekend with the Jets likely to find themselves trailing at points, it’s an opportunity he’ll need to grab.