Take Flight
The New York Jets have comes to terms with WR Corey Davis on a three-year $37.5 million dollar deal with $27 million guaranteed.
Joe Douglas gets his first free agent of 2021 as the Jets finally look to rebuild their organization after two years of tearing it down. The Twitter analysts are on both sides of the good and the bad for his fantasy value, but the one thing everyone agrees on is the value of the contract. The Jets didn’t blow the bank open for the biggest name (yet) but instead charged along “Joe Douglas” way by finding the value in the market. Davis didn’t start to show signs of being worth his first-round pick until last year which was his fourth year in the league.
Paying Davis an average of $12.5 million per year sits him right between the likes of Tyler Boyd and Alshon Jeffery. It’s a contract that both pays him for his breakout while also making it very easy for Davis to outplay it over the next three seasons if he sustains that level of play. That’s a win-win.
The Situation
Corey Davis comes into a very messy offensive room. Sophomore Denzel Mims and veteran slot receiver Jamison Crowder are his main competitions for targets. However, the biggest question is who exactly will be throwing him the ball? It could be Sam Darnold, who is looking for his first healthy season surrounded by actual NFL talent. It could also be one of Justin Fields or Zach Wilson if the Jets trade Darnold and choose to start over with a rookie quarterback with the number two pick in this year’s class.
Fantasy Implications
Messiness creates value in fantasy. It’s not a guarantee that someone has to be fantasy relevant from this offense, but the Jets as a whole will be a better team so there will be value to reap. Davis comes in after a season in which he produced 65 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns. That was good enough for WR30 in fantasy. The Jets’ offense was historically bad so I’m not going to waste time looking at “where the targets come from”, but know that if Davis is healthy, he will receive more than 92 targets. He isn’t competing with AJ Brown anymore. He is walking into a situation where he has a chance to establish himself as the number one option on a team.
Crowder should still have his role in the slot as Davis only spent 13.5% of his snaps in the slot. Denzel Mims was an outside receiver, but he was on the raw side as a prospect and that showed last year as he finished with 23 catches for 357 yards and no touchdowns. Mims showed flashes of potential and the fans, myself included, are expecting him to kick it up a notch if he can stay healthy after missing seven games, including the first six of last year.
Take(flight)away
If you have followed any of my AFC East Divisional Nuggets articles from last season, you know that I’m pretty jaded as a Jets fan. I was torn down to shreds into wanting my team to lose which I think is despicable. But I do think the Jets are finally turning the corner. I believe Joe Douglas could really be the guy to make them consistently watchable and so far this Corey Davis deal confirms that belief. I’ll be floating out second-round rookie picks in offers for Davis because of the messy situation and the “stink” that being on the Jets creates for fantasy value with the hope that he continues his ascension and claims the most targets on a better Jets team in 2021.
What do you think about Corey Davis? Am I letting my Jets fandom get the best of me for fantasy purposes? Let me know on Twitter @DFF_JoeMem! And be sure to sign up for the DFF monthly subscription so you can have access to my Dynasty Rankings and always be one step ahead of the competition!
