Sources tell PFN Chief Draft Analyst and NFL Insider Tony Pauline that the New York Jets are not looking to trade or cut WR Denzel Mims. The team drafted Mims with the 59th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Baylor product amassed nearly 3,000 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns during his time in Waco.
Denzel Mims is not a cut or trade candidate for the New York Jets
There’s a multitude of reasons as to why the Jets are keeping Mims around. He’s a favorite of the front office and general manager Joe Douglas, who used Day 2 draft capital on the Baylor receiver.
Mims has been absent for most of the offseason (we’ll get to that), but despite his absence, sources on hand tell Pauline that Mims has been a quick study and has been the best receiver at camp in the past four days alongside Elijah Moore.
Moore and Mims could be the making of a lightning and thunder combination. They could be young receivers that grow and develop with rookie QB Zach Wilson. Moore is an excellent route runner that can make plays after the catch. He’ll work best from the slot patrolling the middle and short-intermediate areas. On the other hand, Mims could be the team’s prototypical X receiver.
A source also told Pauline, “If the Jets want to trade or cut Mims, 31 teams in the league would line up for him.”
Size is a difference-maker
The big-play receiver shares the turf with Corey Davis, who stands at 6-foot-3. However, both Jamison Crowder and Moore are on the shorter end of the spectrum. This makes Mims’ size even more valuable and gives the Jets two long receivers that should act as great red-zone and third-down weapons.
Mims battled another tumultuous offseason after a tough rookie year
Mims lost 15 pounds after contracting food poisoning in June and according to Pauline, he was put on antibiotics to remedy the situation. It’s reported that the second-year receiver vomited for two weeks, causing stark weight loss. As a result, Mims was unable to participate in the offseason program properly. Sources tell Pauline that due to his missed time, Mims fell behind learning the new offense.
He started camp working with the second and third teams, but when the Jets had their internal scrimmage, Mims was out wide at WR when Wilson stepped under center.
As a rookie, Mims had some nagging injuries that didn’t allow him to see the field as often as his draft peers at the position. He missed the first six weeks of the season as he recovered from a hamstring injury. The Jets WR also missed the Week 14 matchup against Seattle due to a family emergency.
This all came after he missed nearly the entire 2020 offseason with the aforementioned hamstring injury. Despite that, Mims produced when he finally saw the field.
Mims produced as a rookie when healthy
Only six other rookie receivers have produced the way Mims did in his first six NFL games, at least by one metric. Only five others have recorded 40 or more receiving yards in each of their first six professional contests.
Mims caught 23 passes on 44 targets in 2020 and finished the year with 357 receiving yards. Mims’ big-play nature flashed when healthy, as the rookie averaged over 15 yards per catch.
Even the next few weeks offer Mims more work than he has received during his time in the Meadowlands. As time passes, and he continues to impress during practice and preseason, it should become clear that Mims is very much a part of the Jets’ future.
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