The Next Deebo? Malachi Corley Is 2024 NFL Draft's Under-the-Radar Star

Look familiar?

Corley’s contact balance and the violence he runs with allow him to easily run through tackle attempts in 1-on-1 opportunities on the outside. Offensive coordinators will not need to think hard about how to get Corley involved in the game plan because his ability to do damage at or around the line of scrimmage requires little creativity or design.

Corley Brings Explosiveness, Toughness

Don’t expect Corley to run overly well at this year's combine, but Samuel also didn’t set the world on fire in Indianapolis in 2019, running a 4.48-second 40-yard dash.

Where Corley should turn heads is with his explosiveness in the vertical and the broad jumps, two tests Samuel fared well in (86th percentile vertical and 56th percentile broad). Corley’s explosiveness jumps off the tape when watching him at Western Kentucky. 

The work he does after the catch shows off his explosive traits, but he displays a second gear as a route runner and ball tracker too.

Corley’s toughness when catching the football over the middle of the field and breaking tackles are traits NFL scouts will love. Corley shows little hesitation when taking on contact in the open field, and that same mentality appears when making contested catches. 

That toughness also shows up in Corley’s blocking. He takes just as much pride in his blocking as he does his route running or pass-catching. Every team trying to imitate Shanahan’s offense should be all-in on Corley.

It’s tough to compare anyone to Samuel due to his track record of success since being drafted by San Francisco at the top of the second round. However, Corley is as close as I’ve seen to Samuel from a size, skill-set and physicality standpoint. 

How Corley Can Improve

As a pure route runner, Corley needs to develop more nuance. But he can beat press coverage with various releases, and his physicality off the ball is something he showed at Western Kentucky and is showing off in Mobile, Ala. 

His ability to dominate after the catch will force opposing defenses to try and disrupt his timing off the ball, hoping to limit windows early in routes. That is much easier said than done, given Corley’s impressive release packages.

You see here how defenders want to defend Corley, but you can also see how easily he is able to create separation with his physicality off the ball. Defending Corley is a double-edged sword. He consistently shows the ability to bench press defenders lined up in press-man and win early in reps. But you can’t give him space — he’ll dominate as a ball carrier.

Corley will primarily need to improve his consistency as a route-runner. That will allow him to create separation in the middle-to-deep third of the field. Corley struggles when he cannot win off the line and maintain a clean stem up the field. 

Western Kentucky got the ball into his hands quickly with screens, slants and outs instead of asking him to run the full-route tree down the field. Corley has all the traits to continue to improve as a route-runner, but it’s not a strength.

Expect To Hear More About Corley

Corley will be a fit for most teams around the NFL in need of receiver help because his transition from college to the NFL will be simple. Every team in the league needs to create easy completions for their quarterbacks. All coaches want players who can create big gains after the catch. They love receivers who have good vision and explosiveness as ball carriers.

Corley likely will hear his name called sometime early on Day 2 and should immediately improve whatever offense he’s drafted into in his first season.

He likely will turn plenty of heads this week in Mobile. He is primed to make himself some money this offseason at the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine. 

So far, Corley has not gained much traction from the media side, but I’m sure the hype train will begin to pick up steam as more people dive into his tape and see him first-hand in Mobile.