Aaron Rodgers wasn’t the only one excited to land Malachi Corley in the third round of the NFL draft.
The vibes on 1 Jets Drive were seemingly euphoric in newly released footage that showed team owner Woody Johnson, general manager Joe Douglas, head coach Robert Saleh and a slew of other Jets staff members on the phone after they picked Corley with the 65th overall selection on Friday night.
“We’ve been sweating about you for the last two hours,” Johnson told Corley during that call. “We wanted to trade with people and everything else, but we couldn’t get you. We’re so happy. We saw your tape. We love you. We can’t wait to meet you tomorrow.”
The Jets ended up dealing their third-round pick and a fifth-rounder in order to move up in the third round to take Corley.
“Dawg, I am so freakin excited,” Douglas said in his conversation with Corley. “I can’t wait to see you hunting DBs with the ball in your hands, oh my god. You represent everything we are all about. Toughness, violence, anger. I can’t tell you how excited I am big dawg.”
“We have a tremendous vision of how you’re going to be used here, and I can’t express to you how excited we are,” Saleh said in his brief chat with Corley.
Corley set a Western Kentucky school record with 259 career receptions for 2,943 yards and 29 touchdowns.
The receiver has earned the nickname “YAC KING” and has drawn comparisons to 49ers star Deebo Samuel.
The Jets’ future Hall of Fame quarterback in Rodgers expressed excitement of his own over the addition of Corley in a post on X and through a text to Jets brass after the pick was made.
The Jets have five picks in the remaining rounds of the draft that are set to take place on Saturday.
