Malachi

Corley

Cleveland scooped Corley off waivers after the Jets cut him at the end of training camp last year. A true gadget player, Corley earned more carries than catches, rushing 13 times compared to 11 grabs. He totaled 206 yards from scrimmage and returned kicks for Cleveland. The Browns also tendered WR Jamari Thrash and TE Brenden Bates.

Browns receivers caught a combined 2-of-9 targets against the Patriots, with Thrash bringing in both receptions. Though he was technically the leading wide receiver for the day, the Browns offense with Dillon Gabriel is not good enough to bring fantasy relevance to any of their wide receivers. Malachi Corley added a carry for 31 yards, but neither Corley nor Thrash is worth starting. Thrash is only worth adding in the deepest of fantasy leagues.

They signed Malachi Corley and Gage Larvadain to the active roster to replace Tillman. Isaiah Bond out-targeted Tillman 10-5 the past two weeks and would seem to be the main beneficiary of a Tillman absence, though it’s hard to want to start him into the Vikings given how poorly Joe Flacco has played this year. Tillman will be out at least four weeks and might not return to a spot in Cleveland’s pecking order. He’s droppable in most leagues.

Strange picked a great landing spot after getting released yesterday, as the Browns have almost zero starting linemen with guaranteed contracts for 2026. Corley will look to develop his skills and could perhaps challenge for an end-of-roster spot later in the season. The Browns also added QB Bailey Zappe, TE Brendan Bates, TE Sal Cannella, WR Kaden Davis, S Christopher Edmonds, DT Ralph Holley, CB LaMareon James, DT Sam Kamara, RB Ahmani Marshall, DE Julian Okwara and RB Trayveon Williams to their practice squad.

The Jets moved up in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Corley at No. 65 overall. Corley made just three grabs for 16 yards in his rookie season and the new brass in New York now move on from him after just one season with the organization. He’ll have an opportunity for a change of scenery via waivers.

During the 2024 NFL Draft, the Jets, under former head coach Robert Saleh and former GM Joe Douglas, traded two draft picks to move up and select Corley with the No. 65 overall pick. It’s been a disaster for Corley ever since, as the former Western Kentucky Hilltopper quickly fell out of favor with the old regime and caught just three passes for 16 yards across nine games. In Saturday’s preseason outing against the Giants, Corley played on 14 offensive snaps with the backups and failed to draw a target. He caught one pass for eight yards in the team’s first preseason game. Corely is a skilled player who drew comps to Deebo Samuel during the predraft process. If he doesn’t make the initial 53-man roster on cutdown day, there could be plenty of teams willing to take him on as a reclamation project.

Rosenblatt noted Reynolds’ instant connection with Justin Fields in early offseason practices. He also made it clear that Allen Lazard isn’t much of a threat to take the job from Reynolds. Second-year wideout Malachi Corley is already on the roster bubble after a disastrous rookie season and a regime change while fourth-round rookie Arian Smith will likely play a part-time role as an outside speedster this year. Reynolds finishing second on the team in routes looks inevitable. He’s not on the redraft radar, but Best Ball sickos may want to take note for their Fields stacks.

Corley’s absence early in the offseason while he deals with an undisclosed injury has not helped. Jets OC Tanner Engstrand is quoted in the story as saying Corley is “going to have to find a way to catch himself up.” The previous coaching staff also reportedly wasn’t enamored with him after drafting him, noting his route running lacked precision and Cimini writing that his “maturity also came under scrutiny, with some in the organization privately questioning his approach.” Corley is not a lock for a roster spot despite what looks on paper to be a fairly weak Jets wideout room.

At this point, there is no reason to worry. Williams is handsomely paid, and his contract runs through the 2027 season. All reports regarding his health checkout as well. Williams should rejoin his team soon. Jets WR Malachi Corley was present but did not participate. Per Cimini, Corley sat out with an apparent injury.

It was a challenging rookie season for Corley, who was drafted by the Jets in the third round of this year’s draft. It’s not a great sign that most of the conversation around Corely centered around his maturity when Jets coaches were asked about him, but he’ll get a clean slate to work with in 2025 with a new coach and general manager on the way. Corley caught just three passes for 16 yards as a rookie, and infamously dropped a would-be touchdown short of the end zone in a Week 9 win over the Texans on a premature celebration. Corley will have some work to do in the offseason if he hopes to make more of an impact in his sophomore campaign.