The New York Jets had their first training camp practice of 2025 on Wednesday, and some players started things off with a bang. Others, well, not so much.
Second-year receiver Malachi Corley is currently walking a fine line between unpolished youngster and draft bust. Drafted with the first pick of the third round of the 2024 NFL draft, Corley was supposed to be a draft gem. He was even getting compared to All-Pro receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Eventually the rubber had to meet the road, and that’s when Corley’s trajectory took a nosedive. He appeared in just nine games and caught three of six passes thrown his way for 16 total yards but zero touchdowns. Well, he did have a touchdown in Week 9 against the Houston Texans, but it was taken off the board when the replay revealed that he began his celebration too early and released the ball before crossing the goal line. The ball rolled out of the back of the endzone, resulting in a turnover.
“What in the heck is he thinking? Why the urgency for some of these guys to drop the ball? Even if it’s close. Finish the play. Get it in the end zone.”
A dumbfounded Kirk Herbstreit on Malachi Corley’s dumb mistake. pic.twitter.com/W3NbzXT9RO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 1, 2024
No one on the Jets’ roster needs a bounce back year in 2025 more than Corley, but his comeback tour is already in danger of going off the rails. Jets insider Rich Cimini reported from the Jets’ first training camp practice on Wednesday that Corley started things off by dropping a pass from Brady Cook.
Corley can’t afford a mistake like that, not even on the first day of practice. Remember that current Jets GM Darren Mougey did not draft Corley. He’s a Joe Douglas guy. If head coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand feel more comfortable with another receiver, be it a 9-year veteran like Josh Reynolds, who caught a gorgeous pass from Justin Fields in practice, or rookie Arian Smith, then that’s who they’ll go with.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) July 23, 2025
This is not to say that Corley’s career with the Jets is already over. Training camp just started and he has plenty of time to bounce back and impress the coaches. But he needed to start training camp off with a bang. Instead, he’s already behind in the count.
