Last year, the Jets were ecstatic to nab one of the draft’s best wide receivers in the second round. Today, wide receiver Denzel Mims finds himself sixth or seventh on the depth chart, raising serious questions about his future with the team, via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini.
“He’s learning, he’s getting better,” Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “For him, I told him the other day, ‘The more you’re on your stuff, the more opportunities you’re going to get. And the more you’re on your stuff, the more you’re going to be the Denzel Mims that we all know.’ What I’ve really liked, he’s responded a lot in the last few days. He’s had better practices.”
Despite the encouragement, Mims finds himself behind Corey Davis, Jamison Crowder, rookie Elijah Moore, Keelan Cole, and Vyncint Smith. On some days, he’s slotted below speedy journeyman Braxton Berrios, leaving him as the Jets’ WR7.
Mims was slowed by hamstring injuries last year and sidelined by an illness for much of the summer. That hasn’t given him much time to shore up his route running, which is vital to LaFleur’s West Coast scheme.
“It’s different because in this system, we are much tighter and we’re more in a phone booth as wide receivers,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said. “It’s not just playing out in space and having easy releases and having wiggle room. There’s a lot more fighting for leverage..Your lower half comes into play a heck of a lot more, especially when you’re in a phone booth.”
Mims posted two 1,000-yard seasons at Baylor and scored 28 touchdowns over his final three seasons. As a rookie, he posted just 23 catches for 357 yards with zero TDs. In theory, the Jets could shop Mims around, but they won’t be able to recoup anything close to the second-round pick used to take him just last year.
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