NFL Draft Profile: Malachi Corley

Corley is a second round prospect who’s been getting a lot of hype recently.

Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft next week, the New Orleans Saints have a few needs. Obviously, the biggest need is offensive tackle, which the team will likely (hopefully) address in the first round.

Once they get to the second round, there are a few different routes they could go: defensive line or pass catcher. We’ve already highlighted some second-round receivers such as Keon Coleman, so I thought today we’d take a look at another receiver who’s gaining a lot of traction recently: Malachi Corley.

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Malachi Corley is a 5-foot-11, 215-pound receiver from Western Kentucky who has really made a name for himself in the draft process.

At Western Kentucky, Corley received a heavy workload in college, totaling 180 catches for 2,279 (12.66 average) and 22 touchdowns in his last two seasons.

At his pro day, Corley ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and recorded 27 bench press reps, which would’ve been six more than the best receiver at the NFL Combine and would’ve ranked second among defensive ends.

His speed and strength are what make him so good. He’s great at creating in space, but even when defenders get their arms on him, he’s strong enough to break tackles and gain extra yardage. Of his 985 receiving yards last season, 683 of them came after the catch (an average of 8.6 YAC per reception). He also broke 15 tackles according to PFF, which was tied for 35th in the country and was the same amount as guys like Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Troy Franklin.

His average depth of target is on the lower side (5.5 ADOT), which is much lower than some of the top guys such as Marvin Harrison (13.1), Malik Nabers (12.2) and Rome Odunze (15.5), but the Saints have two guys in Chris Olave (13.3) and Rashid Shaheed (14.6) who are downfield guys. Heck, even A.T. Perry had a 17.3 ADOT last season, so the Saints could very well look for a gadgetry guy who can create in space.

There aren’t really many cons to Corley’s game other than some drop issues (six in 2023) and the fact that he didn’t play against high-level competition. His name is creeping up draft boards as April 25th grows closer and closer, so he’s certainly someone to keep your eye on when the Saints are on the clock in the second round.