How Jets’ Aaron Rodgers reacted to his newly added weapon
Shortly after the Jets traded up to the top of the third round to draft receiver Malachi Corley, head coach Robert Saleh said he already got a text from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“He’s excited,” Saleh said.
The feeling is mutual.
“Oh my god, it’s unbelievable,” Corley said after he was told about Rodgers’ reaction to his selection. “That’s a testament of the work ethic and everything I put towards my game, knowing that someone who is a great, who has played this game at a high level for over a decade, sees me in that same light. I think it’s unbelievable and gives me a lot of confidence going into rookie minicamp.”
Corley, a 5-foot-11, 215 pound receiver who draws comparisons to San Francisco wideout Deebo Samuel, is looking forward to being paired with Rodgers.
“Playing with someone like that and having someone like that respect my game is an unbelievable feeling,” he said.
On Thursday, general manager Joe Douglas went with the unsexy — but necessary — offensive tackle selection by picking Olu Fashanu in the first round. But the win-now Jets also needed to add a pass-catcher, and they weren’t slated to pick again until No. 72. There was no guarantee that there would be a plethora of options by that time.
So the Jets traded up to the top of the third round and acquired the No. 65 pick from the Carolina Panthers, which they used on Corley, a receiver out of Western Kentucky.
Corley has been dubbed “The YAC King” (yards after the catch), and in 2023 for Western Kentucky, he led the team with 79 catches for 984 yards and a Conference USA-leading 11 touchdowns. He was also named first-team All-Conference USA in both 2022 and 2023.
“He plays with violence and anger,” Douglas said. “You can do a lot of different things with him.”
Douglas said the Jets began making calls midway through the second round to get a feel if they could trade up earlier and draft a receiver, but there wasn’t a lot of desire for teams to come all the way back to No. 72. In addition to sending that pick to Carolina, the Jets also dealt the fifth-round pick (No. 157) that they acquired from the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.
In Corley, the Jets add an explosive receiver who can be a weapon in the slot. And he comes to New York with a lot of confidence.
“When I get the ball in my hands, I can make special plays happen,” he said.
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