NY Jets: Denzel Mims demoted to third-team offense in training camp

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Denzel Mims / Adam Hunger/Getty Images

The NY Jets once believed Denzel Mims had the potential to be a future No. 1 receiver in their offense. But just one year after he was drafted, he seemingly finds himself plummeting down the depth chart.

Mims worked with the second-team offense throughout all of OTAs and minicamp as the likes of Corey Davis and Keelan Cole were clearly ahead of him on the receiver pecking order.

That's where he seemingly stood at the start of training camp too as he worked alongside the likes of Elijah Moore and Braxton Berrios with the second-team offense. But that changed during Friday's practice.

Mims was surprisingly demoted to the third-team offense on Friday with Vyncint Smith taking his place on the second team. The former Baylor star was instead playing alongside Lawrence Cager and Jeff Smith.

The NY Jets seem to have soured on Denzel Mims.

It wasn't especially concerning that Mims was working with the second-team offense during spring practices. After all, he missed some time with an illness and the Jets were clearly big fans of Keelan Cole.

Most expected Mims to return for training camp and push for playing time with the starters. Instead, the exact opposite has happened.

It's officially time to be worried. Mims working alongside Lawrence Cager and Jeff Smith behind Vyncint Smith is alarming.

A second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Mims struggled to get going as a rookie as a hamstring injury wiped out almost all of his training camp and kept him sidelined for the first half of the season.

He returned and went on to play nine games in his rookie season finishing with 23 catches for 357 yards. It was a less-than-stellar start to his career, but his performance was undoubtedly hindered by injuries and a abysmal supporting cast.

Hopes were high that Mims would break out in 2021. But the new coaching staff doesn't seem to be nearly as high on him as the previous regime.

You could point to the fact that he's not the best scheme fit or whatever. It really doesn't matter what the issue is.

Denzel Mims is plummeting down the depth chart. It's officially time to sound the alarms.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.