Corey Davis spent three years in Tennessee coming well short of expectations given his fifth-overall pick selection in the 2017 draft. Prior to 2019, he averaged 622 yards per season on 47 receptions. Last year, he turned in 65 receptions and 984 yards. That was enough to get Corey Davis a three-year, $37.5 million contract with the new-look New York Jets. What about for fantasy football purposes, what can we expect from the new Jets regime for 2021?
First off, let’s talk about the impression of Corey Davis versus reality. The impression is that Corey Davis sort of farted around in Tennessee for three seasons before breaking out. That’s not entirely true. Davis only had over 70 targets in two-of-four years in Tennessee, and he turned in over 900 total yards in both seasons. He also struggled through the Marcus Mariota regime and turned it around with Ryan Tannehill. In his 24 games with Tannehill, Davis paced out to 923 yards on 63 receptions.
Corey Davis turned it up last year, though inconsistently. He ranked seventh in yards per target (among guys with at least 50 targets), ahead of teammate A.J. Brown. He notched five games with over 100 yards, but also two games with zero yards. A consistent target load in New York should do wonders for Corey Davis’ production, as long as Sam Darnold is more Ryan Tannehill than Marcus Mariota.
Unfortunately, for Corey Davis, we aren’t quite sure if Sam Darnold is Marcus Mariota or Ryan Tannehill at this point… or if Sam Darnold will even start week one for the Jets. That part of the situation is up-in-the-air, but I am happy to get Davis as my fifth wide receiver this season. We still aren’t sure if Denzel Mims will be anything in this league, but Davis should be the #2 wide receiver on this team at worst. I will take a shot on alpha Corey Davis with the Jets. Worst-case scenario, it’s the Denzel Mims show in New York and I cut Corey Davis.
Finally, for the Titans… it’s too soon to tell. Jonnu Smith is a Patriot, and Adam Humphries is a free agent. That means their only pass catchers worth a lick under contract are A.J. Brown and Anthony Firkser. So they simply must add someone in free agency or the draft. As it stands, though, A.J. Brown has a legit shot at ending 2021 as the #1 wide receiver with the anticipated target volume spike and his insane game-breaking potential. Should the Titans not add anyone and roll with Firkser, we know what the tight end can do in this offense. He should be part of the 2021 tight end blob unless the Titans add another upper-end pass catcher.
All told, this could be a big move for Corey Davis. The Jets are in year one of a rebuild, but get a boost from Robert Saleh poaching offensive coaching staff from Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. The offense won’t pass a lot, but it will be an efficient passing game built on getting their receivers yards after the catch. Corey Davis should be able to thrive in the intermediate range in this offense, and I am happy to take him, as I said, as a speculative fifth wide receiver in my 2021 fantasy football drafts.
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