Malachi Corley is arguably the top Group of Five prospect in this year’s NFL Draft.
Offensive coordinators and quarterbacks should be salivating at the thought of having Corley as a weapon. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound wideout doesn’t need anything fancy to happen for him to make a big play.
Just get the ball in his hands.
While 2023 was somewhat of a step back compared to his 2022 season, he still ranked third in CUSA in receiving yards despite missing a game — a game in which Western Kentucky scored 52 points, meaning Corley could have feasted in this game. To be fair, the Hilltoppers offense as a whole took a step back from its 2022 showing.
Missing that contest potentially kept him from reaching his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. Still, he finished with 984 yards and 11 TDs on 79 receptions. In 2022, Corley caught 101 passes for 1,293 yards and 11 scores. Both his yardage and receptions ranked fourth in the FBS in 2022 and led CUSA.
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Elite After The Catch
One of the main things that makes Corley so dangerous is his ability to do damage after the catch. He averaged over 12 yards per reception the last two seasons, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is when you factor in how often Corley gets the ball near or behind the line of scrimmage.
Like I said, just get the ball in his hands and he will make plays.
Because of this, Corley might not fit that traditional receiver role but more like a guy who we just saw playing in the Super Bowl in Deebo Samuel, or even the guy who caught the game-winning TD in that game — Mecole Hardman.
Aside from being a unique player, Corley is also extremely physical and is tough to bring down:
It helps that most guys don’t want to tackle him:
This physicality matched with his explosiveness and burst makes Corley a very attractive prospect. He also has great hands and can haul in passes from a distance despite not being lengthy.
What Can Be Polished?
Well, because WKU and coach Tyson Helton emphasized getting the ball in his hands as often as possible and letting Corley go to work, many of his receptions came around the line of scrimmage, as mentioned above.
Because of this, Corley didn’t get out and run as many routes as a typical receiver might, which leaves room for Corley’s route running and route trees to improve.
At 5-11, Corley also isn’t the tallest guy so he doesn’t have the ability to go up and get a ball over taller defensive backs. He can certainly outmuscle them, however.
Of course, there are always parts of a player’s craft that can be worked on, but most of Corley’s weaknesses come from his size. Other than that, he doesn’t have many flaws and those that he does will be improved as his NFL career progresses.
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Where Did Malachi Corley Get Drafted?
Corley was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was selected with the 65th overall pick.
