Should NY Jets fans be concerned about Malachi Corley's slow start?

NY Jets training camp is here, and we've already seen reports emerge about various wide receivers standing out in practice. Allen Lazard's resurgence has been encouraging to see, while veteran wideout Malik Taylor made some noise on Friday.

But one player who hasn't made many (or any) headlines despite the absences of multiple starting wide receivers is rookie Malachi Corley. The Jets' third-round pick has been eerily quiet through the first few days of training camp this week.

That's with starting wide receivers Mike Williams and Xavier Gipson, the latter of whom suffered a leg injury on Thursday, sidelined for the time being. Corley hasn't been able to capitalize to this point.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh fueled any possible concern on Friday when he insisted that Corley still "has a long way to go" as a route runner before he can be trusted to contribute on offense. That's not exactly a glowing review of the Jets' rookie wide receiver.

Saleh's comments combined with Corley's lackluster start have some fans already sounding the alarm bells, but is it too early to be concerned?

Malachi Corley's slow start is predictable and not a reason for concern

In short, yes, it's too early to be seriously concerned about Corley's future. We're just three days into training camp. The pads haven't even come on yet. Making any declarative statements about Corley's future would be rather foolish.

On top of that, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Corley garnered a reputation in college as a so-called "YAC king," but his route running was very much still a work in progress. It's not surprising that Saleh and the Jets agree with that notion.

Corley is an exciting and dynamic offensive playmaker, but he's still developing into an actual NFL wide receiver. That takes time, especially at a position like wide receiver, which tends to have one of the steeper learning curves.

Garrett Wilson wasn't lighting it up in training camp in his first summer. Heck, he didn't even play 50 percent of snaps in his first NFL game. Even a future Rookie of the Year like Wilson took a little while to find his footing and earn the trust of the coaching staff.

That's especially true for a player like Corley, who thrives in real-game situations. You're not going to see the best Corley has to offer in a padless practice where players are running at half speed.

Corley is at his best when he can use his physicality to overwhelm defenders and make guys miss. Padless training camp practices are never going to be his specialty.

That said, any Jets fans expecting him to play a sizable role early this season should re-assess their expectations. If the season were to begin tomorrow, he might not see any offensive snaps. Right now, he's at best fifth on the wide receiver depth chart, and that might be being generous.

There's still plenty of time for Corley to show some progress and find his footing in the offense over the coming weeks. Gipson's absence should afford him more opportunities to make an impression in the first-team offense.

It's too early to be concerned, but Corley's slow start is indicative of how the team currently views him. He has his work cut out for him if he's going to carve out a role this season.