2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Profile: Malachi Corley, WR Western Kentucky
When projecting how a rookie wide receiver might perform in the NFL, there are so many ways to thoroughly evaluate them. Through this article, I will walk through statistics, film, measurables, and finally, dynasty value.
Let’s look deeper into Malachi Corley, who was a small school standout. He is a player with a lot of ability, who played for a pass-happy attack in college. His statistics are gaudy and some of the best in college football over the past three seasons.
The Stats
Courtesy Sports Reference.
In the last three seasons, Corley has been ultra-productive with 253 receptions, 2,970 yards, and 29 touchdowns.
The Hilltoppers did everything they could to just get the ball into his hands and let him make plays. For the season, 45% of his targets were on screens or jet sweeps. This played into his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands as he was top 20 in the country with 8.6 yards after the catch.
While the numbers are quite impressive, I think Corley will need to fit a specific role in a team’s offensive game plan if he is going to succeed at the next level. I expect him to be a day two or three pick, but I have seen him mocked anywhere from the late second round to the early fourth round of the NFL Draft.
The Film
The YouTube highlight reel shows what Corley can do as a wide receiver. He is an absolute YAC (yards-after-catch) monster. He is one of the best wide receivers in this draft with the ball in his hands.
He played in the slot 92% of the time in college. That is where he will play in the NFL.
Where I think Corley shines is his ability to take screens and short passes and turn them into big plays. He runs defensive backs over in the secondary, and he can break tackles and make short gains and big ones.
He has shown the ability to go deep with some nice double moves. He is also a capable blocker in the running game.
The biggest negative from the video and following Corley’s career is his contested catch rate. Pro Football Focus has his contested catch rate at 23.5% in 2023, that’s not good. It is his biggest weakness overall. He has shown average route-running skills and doesn’t win a lot of 50/50 balls deep downfield.
The Measurables
Corley did not participate at the NFL Combine due to illness, but he did participate at the Senior Bowl. He was voted the Senior Bowl North Squad WR Player of the Week by defensive backs in Mobile, Alabama.
After missing the combine, Corley turned some heads at his Pro Day. Scouts from 31 teams and nine WR coaches showed up to check out the 5-11, 210-pound athlete who reportedly ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash.
Corley has shown off some elite physical traits. He looks more like a running back than a wide receiver on the football field, which makes sense, since he started his career as an RB. He reminds a lot of people of San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel. Corley has really good size and strength and can play somewhat like a running back, as he often runs like one with the ball in his hands.
A rookie from last year’s class who Corley also reminds me of is Jayden Reed, the former Michigan State player. The Packers’ rookie had a breakout season last year. Green Bay found creative ways to get the ball in Reed’s hands and in turn, he produced some big impact plays.
Samuel or even Reed are likely Corley’s ceiling, but his floor is a player like Laviska Shenault, who could do a little bit of everything well in college, but never found a team to properly use his skills in any kind of successful way. Corley will need a good landing spot on a team with a creative offensive mind like the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan or the Packers’ Matt LaFleur if he is going to have a successful career in the NFL.
Dynasty Value
Courtesy of March 2024 Rookie Dynasty ADP.
Corley is currently the WR12 off the board and the 25th overall prospect according to our March 2024 Rookie Mock ADP. Corley finds himself in a loaded wide receiver class that has 16 WRs ranked in the top 29 picks in fantasy football.
He is currently jumbled up with quite a few other WRs in that tier-three group including Ja’Lynn Polk, Xavier Legette, Roman Wilson, Ricky Pearsall, Devontez Walker, and Jalen McMillan.
Courtesy of DLF’s ADP Comparison Tool.
According to the ADP Tool, Corley has been pretty flat over the last month and has actually slightly dropped. He was right around WR2 or WR3 in this tier back in February but has dropped to sixth out of seven WRs in this group. This entire tier group has seen a rise in value over the last month, except for Corley.
Corley was going in the middle to end of the second round in early mock drafts but seems to be moving closer to a third-round pick. Landing spots and draft capital are going to help decide who rises and falls within this WR group. Corley might need a really plush landing spot if his stock is going to rise. If he ends up with a bad offense that isn’t creative, it could crater his value.
Corley is currently fourth for me in this tier behind Legette, Wilson, and Polk. If he makes it into the third round of rookie drafts, I will be looking to grab him. If he gets an outstanding landing spot with a team, I think can properly use his skillset, then he might sneak into the second round of rookie drafts for me. With a bad landing spot, I can see Corley slipping to the fourth round of rookie drafts.
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