Malachi Corley: General Manager Joe Douglas’ so-called “WR4” in the draft

I typically don’t write articles that evaluate rookies in year one. I think it’s unfair because the rule of thumb is that you should wait three years to evaluate a draft. However, sometimes there is an extenuating circumstance.

In the case of wide receiver Malachi Corley, the extenuating circumstance is General Manager Joe Douglas, who gave himself a significant public pat on the back while claiming that Corley was their fourth ranked wide receiver in the 2024 NFL draft. Truthfully, this entire article says far more about Joe Douglas than it does Malachi Corley in my opinion.

Needless to say, it’s a bit weird to say that the player you viewed as the fourth wide receiver in the draft fell to you in the third round. Especially since 11 wide receivers went before Malachi Corley, which says quite a bit about how the NFL at large felt about that opinion. But, hey, maybe time will prove Joe Douglas right.

As it turns out, time has yet to do that.

Through his first five games, Corley has played all of two offensive snaps.

Yes, you read that correctly.

PFF has Malachi Corley logged for of 2 snaps on offense.

Needless to say, that’s a bit low and it also explains why he has logged a total of 1 catch for 4 yards to date. This is a far cry from a breakout statline.

The Jets also talked a big game about Corley being a threat on the ground. Specifically, they raved about his running ability.

To date, Corley has yet to receive a single carry on offense.

Yeesh.

Talk about not living up to the hype.

For what it’s worth, it already appears that Corley is disappointed with his usage based on some recent social media posts, and honestly, can you really blame him when the team sung his praises just months ago?

Needless to say, a whopping one touch is a pretty steep fall from grace for the man once hailed as the “YAC King.”

How are those other wideouts doing that Joe Douglas was very proud to tell the world he had ranked lower than the “steal” of a wide receiver that he got following a tradeup in the third round?

Well, the top three were most likely Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona Cardinals), Malik Nabers (New York Giants), and Rome Odunze (Chicago Bears). To date, each is averaging at least 40 receiving yards per game and has at least one touchdown. Obviously, Corley has not lived up to that level of play. However, perhaps that’s an unfair comparison given each of those players went in the top 10 and were unavailable to the Jets when they picked. Douglas did imply that he thought those players were better than Corley anyway, so maybe this means nothing despite Douglas wordsmithing in such a way that put Corley relatively close to them as a player.

But how about the other guys that Joe Douglas supposedly had pegged as worse players than Corley? Well, that part of the situation is simply not aging well.

Among the players drafted after the aforementioned “Big Three” and before Corley are players such as:

• Brian Thomas (Jacksonville Jaguars): 22 catches, 18 yards per catch, 79.4 yards per game, and 3 touchdowns
• Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs): 12 catches, 14.9 yards per catch, 35.8 yards per game, and 4 total touchdowns
• Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills): 9 catches, 19.4 yards per catch, 35.0 yards per game, 2 touchdowns
• Xavier Legette (Carolina Panthers: 13 catches, 11.6 yards per catch, 30.2 yards per game, and 1 touchdown

Needless to say, each of these players have significantly outplayed Corley to date.

There are several more players who went after Corley who have also significantly outplayed him to date. This includes:

• Jordan Whittington (Los Angeles Rams): 18 catches, 11.2 yards per catch, 40.2 yards per game, and 0 touchdowns
• Ladd McConkey (Los Angeles Chargers: 15 catches, 11.7 yards per catch, 44.0 yards per game, and 2 touchdowns
• Luke McCaffrey (Washington Commanders): 10 catches, 9.8 yards per catch, 19.6 yards per catch, 0 touchdowns.

There is obviously still time for Corley to pick it up and surpass these players. As I said, you don’t typically evaluate a draft till three years out, and we aren’t even halfway through year one.

However, Joe Douglas (and really all GMs), please don’t go out and flap your feathers about how great your draft went and how much of a steal of a player is if you aren’t 100% certain that you just got a steal. And the truth is, you’re never 100% certain. Perhaps it’s better to move in silence and be praised by others later on for your brilliance than say things like “We got our fourth ranked wide receiver in round three” and end up with egg on your face because the player can’t even find a way to earn reps come gameday. Needless to say, it doesn’t make you look all that brilliant.