What You Should Know About Denzel Mims

The Jets continued to address the wide receiver position by selecting Denzel Mims No. 59 overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. New York signed Breshad Perriman to a one-year, $8 million contract with $6 million guaranteed during free agency. He finally put all the pieces together late last season after being an afterthought to start to his career and parlayed that into a very nice one year contract. Opportunity knocked for Perriman with the Buccaneers once Mike Evans and Chris Godwin suffered season-ending injuries in back to back weeks. He answered the door and accumulated 54% of his receiving yards during Tampa Bay’s last three games. Perriman averaged 5.7 receptions, 116.3 yards, and 174 air yards per game.

The Jets now have two tall, slender receivers who are capable of making plays downfield to replace Robby Anderson who signed with the Panthers during free agency. Mims and Perriman will also join slot receiver, Jamison Crowder, running back LeVeon Bell, tight end Chris Herndon, and quarterback Sam Darnold in the Jets revamped offense. This article will discuss Mims’ collegiate statistical body of work at Baylor, why he’ll flourish in New York and his fantasy football outlook in 2020.

Denzel Mims Statistical Body of Work

Mims was the 13th wide receiver selected in the draft. The number 13 is synonymous with bad luck in some cultures, but in Italy, it means to hit the jackpot. This year’s NFL Draft will likely be remembered as one the most plentiful wide receiver drafts in history. A record-setting 13 receivers were selected during the first two rounds of this year’s draft. That shatters the record set in 2014 that included Mike Evans and Odell Beckham. The Jets traded down and was still able to land one of the top receiver prospects in this year’s class.

Mims ranks sixth in career receiving yards at Baylor. His number of receptions rank fifth in school history. Mims’ 28 career receiving touchdowns rank third in Baylor history. He’s only the third wide receiver in the program’s history with multiple seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards. Mims had 11 career 100-yard receiving games as a Bear and was the only player in the FBS to score at least eight touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. His draft stock continued to trend up after the NFL Combine.

Fastest three-cone drill.

3rd-fastest 40 time.

Top 10 in broad + vertical jump.@Zel5Zelly put on a show in receiver workouts at the combine. pic.twitter.com/rB8Dfj9fbQ

— New York Jets (@nyjets) May 3, 2020

Mims’s combine essentially verified what many NFL Draft Analysts saw on film. He accounted for a high percentage of Baylor’s offensive production during his tenure there as a four-year player. This bodes well for Mims’ NFL career outlook as a high caliber contributor. He brings speed and experience running a deep route tree which Jets head coach Adam Gase treasures. Mims should step immediately as a starter. Let’s walk through what that looks like for him in New York in 2020.

How Denzel Mims Fits with the Jets

Darnold and Anderson developed great chemistry during their time playing together in New York. The duo connected 24 times for 402 receiving yards and three touchdowns from Week 12 to 16 last season. It’s been a challenge for Darnold to develop a rapport with his new receivers outside of text messages and FaceTime due to COVID-19, but one thing is certain. The Jets’ front office selected Mims to be the bedrock for the young quarterback since they’re renting Perriman for one season.

Many moves by the Jets' front office suggest they want to attack defenses vertically in 2020. Drafting Mims and signing Perriman was an indication of that. One of General Manager Joe Douglas’s other priorities was to strengthen its offensive line. He signed center Connor McGovern, left tackle George Fant, guard Greg Van Roten, center/guard Josh Andrews, and resigned guard Alex Lewis. The Jets finished last season ranked 31st in rushing yards per game with 78.6. It was so dire that Bell averaged a disappointing 0.66 fantasy points per opportunity. He had the seventh-highest opportunity share (76.8%) among running backs. New York’s offensive line also allowed 52 sacks. The Jets fortified their line even more after selecting offensive tackle Mekhi Becton with the 11th overall pick in the draft. He was the first offensive lineman the Jets selected in the first round since D’Brickashaw Ferguson in 2006. Darnold and Bell will immediately benefit from the team’s revamped offensive line and this also applies to Mims via pass protection.

Darnold finished last season outside the top-20 in passing air yards. The Jets offensive line had a protection rate of 77.5%. One immediate benefit the revamped line will have on Darnold is reducing his number of pass attempts under pressure. According to ESPN Stats and Information, only five quarterbacks attempted more passes under pressure than Darnold over the last two seasons. Last season he finished with a pressured completion percentage of 40.3% and threw 10 touchdowns under pressure which are positive. The negative is that Darnold ranked 25th with a passer under pressure rating of 48.3. He’ll have a cleaner pocket to work from this season which is very good for Mims’ fantasy outlook in 2020.

Mims's and Perriman’s presence on the outside will open up things for Crowder underneath as he works out of the slot. He finished outside the top-50 in air yards per game, but did rank 14th among wide receivers in true catch rate. This metric divides total receptions by total catchable targets. The Jets offense will continue to flow through Crowder as the Jets No. 1 receiver. He’s an excellent bounce-back candidate this season.

Mims’s fantasy ceiling is contingent on how quickly he calibrates with Darnold. Perriman is in a similar scenario since they recently joined the Jets organization. New York has 183 vacated targets, so both should see a steady dose of opportunities. It would not be surprising to see Perriman be shadowed by the opposing team’s top cornerback since he’s a known commodity. Mims will play a critical role in the Jets offense in 2020 and in Darnold’s continued development as an NFL quarterback. He’s a candidate to outperform his average draft position.

Bottom Line

• Mims is walking into a very good situation with the Jets since he was drafted to replace Robby Anderson.
• His selection in the second round of the NFL Draft implies he’ll play a high number of snaps and see a steady number of targets per game.
• Mims can be viewed as an upside WR4 and a late-round sleeper in redraft
• From a dynasty perspective, he has a very clear path to becoming the Jets’ No. 1 receiver in 2021. New York could move on from Crowder saving themselves $10.5 million against the cap. Perriman only signed a one-year contract.
• Mims should be targeted in the early to mid-second round in rookie drafts