2024 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Malachi Corley, WR Western Kentucky
The standout feature of the 2024 NFL Draft that everyone keeps mentioning is the depth of talent at the wide receiver position. This draft is unique in my lifetime due to the presence of two standout generational prospects: Marvin Harrison Jr and Malik Nabers. Additionally, there is a larger quantity of “bigger” wide receivers compared to recent draft classes.
Malachi Corley is one of these talented wide receivers drawing heavy consideration in the 2024 NFL Draft. He seems somewhat overshadowed by more popular wide receivers in this class. When you analyze his price tag in rookie drafts and combine it with his perceived draft capital, he could develop into a diamond in the rough when everything is said and done.
Recruitment
Corley was not a highly sought-after prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the 32nd-best player in the state of Kentucky and the 303rd-best cornerback. His two-star rating is a major indicator that he slipped through the cracks of the recruiting process. Playing for a smaller school in Kentucky, specifically Campbellsville High School (serving 300 students in grades 9-12), likely made it hard for him to get noticed.
Courtesy of 247Sports.
When you pull up his HUDL tape, you notice he’s posting clips of himself playing wide receiver. For a small school prospect at a young age, he is displaying a diverse release package with good burst and a good ability to get in and out of breaks. Small school wide receivers typically have primitive archaic release and route packages. Corley appeared to be a diamond in the rough at the high school level and demonstrated that he had some upside to tap into if developed his skill sets.
Collegiate Career
Courtesy of Sports Reference.
Corley appeared in nine games during his first season at Western Kentucky, making his first start against Charlotte in the team’s regular season finale, recording three catches for 40 yards.
He took a dramatic step forward during his second season with the team, catching 73 balls for 691 yards and seven touchdowns. Playing against Power-5 competition, he racked up 16 catches for 139 yards combined against Indiana and Michigan State.
Corley was used in the slot for 97 percent of his snaps, only lining up on the outside for 15 snaps. He owned an 11.38 percent market share of Western Kentucky’s passing offense.
The tidal wave came in 2022 when he exploded for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns. This is when the NFL Draft community started to anticipate him as one of the next hot prospects on the scene. Corley recorded 100-yard performances against Florida International, UTSA, Middle Tennessee State, and Charlotte. Against Power-5 competition, he tallied 20 catches for 176 yards combined against Indiana and Auburn.
He averaged 2.68 yards per route while achieving a 6.1 average depth of target. This would be considered his breakout season at age 20 with a 26.23 percent market share while seeing 2.08 yards per team pass attempt.
Corley capped off his final season by catching 79 passes for 984 yards and 11 touchdowns. He posted 100-yard games against Troy, Louisiana Tech, and Sam Houston. His best game of the season came when he caught eight passes for 88 yards and one touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Corley recorded a career-high with 2.78 yards per route. We did see his average depth of target dip to 5.5. He owned a 25.54 percent market share of the team’s passing production with 1.83 yards per team pass attempt.
Strengths
- Has a thick build that resembles a running back.
- Very aggressive a ball carrier after the catch.
- His top-end speed allows him to pull away from defenders.
- Strong hands allow him to pluck balls out of the air with ease.
Weaknesses
- Corley has deficiencies in route-running, due to poor footwork and lack of detail. This leads to drifting into traffic while having below-average spatial awareness.
- His catch radius is limited.
- Corley’s size might keep him in the slot as he ran 91.6 percent of his snaps in the slot during his career at Western Kentucky.
Draft Value
Courtesy of Mock Draft Database.
Corley is being drafted in the second and third rounds in mock drafts, projecting him to be a day-two prospect. The odds of him climbing into the first round are next to none. There is a major threat that he falls into day three of the NFL Draft due to the depth of this year’s wide receiver class.
He will need a strong outing at the Senior Bowl while also posting good numbers at the NFL Combine to prevent his stock from dropping. There’s a lot of competition in this year’s class. With a larger supply of wide receivers, some teams could elect to wait on the position to fill other positional needs.
Dynasty Outlook
He is projected to get drafted around the third or fourth round of rookie drafts. There are some variables at play when it comes to his dynasty outlook. The major factor is draft capital. If he gets drafted in the second or third round, there will be more optimism for his long-term player value. If he falls in the NFL Draft, then he becomes another late-round lottery ticket in a deep talented wide receiver class that will have many late-round dart throws.
Corley has the chance to be fantasy-relevant if he gets drafted to a team that needs a slot receiver. He would also benefit from a high-volume passing attack considering right now he doesn’t project to take over as a WR1 like the top wide receivers in this class.
Overall, as there are some good things in his game that an NFL team would love, he projects as a late-round gamble in rookie drafts. His long-term value in dynasty will depend on how quickly he can climb the depth chart and make an impact for his team. Corley would need to show promise during the first couple of seasons of his career before dynasty gamers pivot from him. His upside is situational and very dependent on how his stock trends during draft season.
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- 2024 NFL Draft: What We Expect for Day 1 - April 25, 2024
