Jets' preseason opener may have sealed the fate of one young WR

The New York Jets’ preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers was supposed to be a proving ground for several receivers jockeying for depth chart spots. Outside of Garrett Wilson, the wide receiver room is arguably the most contentious area of Gang Green’s roster, as the depth chart is riddled with question marks.

Josh Reynolds, Allen Lazard, Tyler Johnson, and Arian Smith are not a supporting cast for Justin Fields that inspires much optimism. And it’s telling that 2024 third-rounder Malachi Corley is failing to beat them out for meaningful playing time.

It’s extremely rare to see a player go from being nicknamed the “YAC King” in college to being out of the NFL in a year’s time. Yet that is exactly what Corley is on the verge of.

He spent the majority of Saturday night's game suiting up with the third-team offense, and it’s growing increasingly unlikely that he survives cuts to crack the Week 1 roster.

NY Jets seem ready to pull the plug on the Malachi Corley experiment

Corley was a two-time All-Conference USA pass-catcher during his time at Western Kentucky, before being selected by the Jets with the No. 65 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

In a draft class loaded with wide receiver talent — most notably Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr., and Ladd McConkey — the Jets quickly grew enamored with Corley.

Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh were ready to bring Corley to Florham Park by any means necessary, with the hopes that he could be a reliable WR2 or WR3 alongside Wilson for Aaron Rodgers.

They considered trading into the middle of the second round to select him before striking a deal with the Carolina Panthers to move up to the first pick of the third round.

It was even reported that the Jets had Corley as the WR4 on their draft board, ahead of both Thomas and McConkey. Both of those receivers eclipsed 1,000 yards as rookies, while Corley recorded just three receptions for 16 yards on the season, with his most iconic play of the season being a Thursday night blunder on Halloween.

Talk about a transition to the NFL that was anything but smooth — even in training camp (both this and last year), he did not look pro-ready.

Against the Packers, though, the 5-foot-11 receiver caught just one pass, while Arian Smith, Tyler Johnson, Brandon Smith, and undrafted rookie Quentin Skinner made the most of their opportunities.

The expectation is that Wilson, Reynolds, Johnson, Lazard, Arian Smith, and one of Xavier Gipson or UDFA rookie Jamaal Pritchett will be the wide receivers on the 53-man roster. Even Brandon Smith and Skinner are likely ahead of Corley in the pecking order at this stage.

For a franchise still clawing out from under years of misfires in player evaluation, the Corley pick is starting to look like another costly misstep, one they were nearly ready to admit to last summer. Speaking of, remember Jachai Polite?

Most of the time, young, high-upside talent like this will receive a second shot somewhere in the NFL, but Corley's career might be better suited for the UFL or CFL at this point. His NFL future is very much hanging in the balance.

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