The Jacksonville Jaguars needed help at receiver in 2024 and ended up using a first-round selection on Brian Thomas Jr. The decision looked great at the time and looks even better one year later. After all, the former LSU Tiger quickly established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL right off the bat and is expected to be even better in his sophomore campaign. That said, the Jags might've missed out on him if it weren't for a miscalculation the New York Jets made.
Like Jacksonville, the Jets need help at receiver in 2024, so they went with Malachi Corley in Round 3. What stood out about the decision is that former New York general manager Joe Douglas reportedly had Corley ahead of Thomas, Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, and Xavier Worthy on his draft board. Fast forward to the 2025 training camp, and the pick looks baffling.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports that Corley got off to the wrong foot to start training camp, noting that the sophomore receiver bobbled a pass and dropped it. For the sake of transparency, Rosenblatt then added that the throw was a little behind, but that's the catch you must make if you want to make a strong impression.
As things stand, the former Western Kentucky standout has an uphill battle to stick around with the Jets next season and didn't make things even better with his poor outing to start training camp.
Although he was healthy in 2024, Corley was inactive for several bouts. He logged a measly 83 snaps on defense and hauled in three catches on six targets. It's fair to say that his odds of sticking around in New York won't be great unless he quickly turns things around.
Meanwhile, Thomas was a stud throughout the offseason and expects to take on a bigger leadership role in 2025. He finished his first NFL season with 82 catches for 1,282 yards with 10 touchdowns. He also earned a Pro Bowl alternate designation and was fourth in voting for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
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The Jaguars should be glad the Jets were more interested in Malachi Corley than Brian Thomas Jr.
Now, players' readiness is always variable coming out of the draft, but the New York Jets might've made an attempt to either trade up or down in the 2024 draft to acquire Brian Thomas Jr. if they had had him ranked higher than Malachi Corley.
For context, New York drafted offensive lineman Olumuyiwa Fashanu 11th overall and later traded up for Corley. There's a chance they could've moved down for Thomas if they had had him higher on their big board. After all, the former LSU Tiger was projected to go in the first round despite the fact that the consensus saw Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, and Malik Nabers as the best three receivers of the class.
Ultimately, Thomas outplayed every other receiver from the 2024 class except for maybe Nabers (and only maybe), so the Jaguars are surely glad that he was still available at No. 23 and that the Jets weren't interested in making an aggressive push for him.