Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley is an intriguing prospect who will have little trouble finding interested NFL franchises, and his style of play means he’ll have a spot in the fantasy football conversation perhaps as early as Week 1 of his rookie season.

A two-way star in prep football, Corley played cornerback with physicality but opted to move full time to wide receiver at Western Kentucky. The senior heads to the NFL as one of the most dangerous yards-after-catch weapons in the draft class. He’s somewhat raw in the precision areas of the game, which presents room for growth, and you can’t teach his athletic prowess.

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 215 pounds
40 time: 4.46 seconds

Corley was highly productive at WKU, going for a touchdown every 8.2 catches the past two seasons combined. He has untapped potential as a rusher and even as a special teams returner. Corley’s body of work, physical tools, and remaining unrealized ceiling should find him a home as early as the late second round, though the third stanza seems to be a more likely landing spot.

Table: WR Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky (2020-23)

*includes postseason/bowl games (stats from Sports Reference)

Pros

• Powerfully built bowling ball in the open field who can run through arm tackles and create yardage for himself after the catch
• Quality hands with late deployment to help keep defenders at bay
• Having played cornerback at a high level helps him diagnose coverages presnap
• Dangerous chain-moving outlet in short- and intermediate-area passing zones — at his best when schemed into touches around the line of scrimmages, allowing him to pick his way through blockers
• Has the potential to be utilized as a gadget-play runner and even a special teams return man
• Impressively productive in college and a prolific scorer in recent seasons — has shown the ability to put a passing game on his back
• Not a bad route runner even though his experience isn’t where NFL coaches would like it to be after four years of college ball
• Functionally solid blocker

Cons

• Punishing style opens him up to increased injury risk and, potentially, a shorter career
• Too many concentration drops on tape, especially in congestion, despite being overall a quality pass catcher
• Limited system fit and needs manufactured touches to be at his best, which can take the wrong style of offense out of rhythm
• Needs to further develop his route tree
• One could argue his production came vs. lesser competition

Fantasy football outlook

What happens if he doesn’t actually continue to grow as a traditional downfield weapon? Corley’s long-term outlook is exceptionally difficult to project from that aspect alone. Should he never develop into more than a quick-hit target who weaves through traffic, he won’t ascend to a WR1 in fantasy. Defenses will figure him out in a hurry and game plan against him, driving his efficiency down and eventually leading to his offensive coordinator to get away from him.

That’s not to say won’t have a role in such a scenario, but think Laviska Shenault as a floor if Corley cannot grow his game.

With all of that laid out, the near-term outlook is remarkably favorable if Corley lands in a favorable system, ideally a creative West Coast offshoot. Think of someone like Deebo Samuel, for example. While it’s not a perfect comparison from a player-to-player perspective, picture how he can catch five or six short passes, rack up 80 or so yards, and quickly post WR2 numbers in PPR — even if he doesn’t score a TD. Then tack on the potential for a handful of rushing attempts and he threatens WR1 placement any given week.

That would be the best-case outlook for Corley’s early career. Samuel has diversified his route tree and can attack from anywhere on the field. That’s the hopeful path for Corley. Provided he can become more well-rounded, expect a No. 1 ceiling to be within reach.

The third possible outcome — and least likely of the scenarios — is he could get moved to running back at some point in his career, much like Cordarrelle Patterson, which wouldn’t be the end of the world.