New York Jets trade up, select WR Malachi Corley in NFL draft

The Jets trade up to draft Malachi Corley in Round 3

Joe Douglas read the board perfectly on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft. Aggressively trading with the Carolina Panthers, the New York Jets selected Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley with the first pick in the third round (No. 65 overall).

The #Jets are selecting Malachi Corley, WR out of Wester Kentucky, sources tell @snytv.

Talked about this last night on SNY: They LOVE this guy. He was the fourth receiver on their big board behind Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison.

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) April 27, 2024

Corley was heavily connected to the Jets leading into the draft, as was previously written about extensively. Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing 215 pounds, the Western Kentucky product is a versatile weapon that can play the slot.

Douglas patiently and only needed to give up the 157th pick to move up eight spots to land his guy. Per the Jimmy Johnson value chart, the Jets “won” the trade, gaining 265 points to Carolina’s 258.6.

Panther trade: 65

Jets trade: 72, 157

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 27, 2024

The early run on wide receiver switched to a tsunami of defensive players blessing the Jets with their guy without giving up too much.

Garrett Wilson is a star, and Mike Williams was dominant before an ACL tear in Week 3. He should be healthy for Week 1, but he likely won’t return to himself until later in the season.

Meanwhile, Allen Lazard was disappointing in 2023, and the rest don’t inspire much more confidence (save for Xavier Gipson flashes).

Malachi Corely is another weapon that can help give Aaron Rodgers’s New York Jets offense a huge bump in the right direction.

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