Fantasy camp battles: Denzel Mims vs. Breshad Perriman

Update September 1: Perriman was held out of Tuesday’s practice with a knee injury and Mims still hasn’t returned from his hamstring injury. Crowder remains the top option in a receiving corps that’s struggled with health problems. Hogan could gain some ground while the players ahead of him aren’t in the best shape.

Update August 25: Mims has been out for the last 12 days due to a hamstring injury. Perriman has also missed some time, but not nearly as much. He is obviously the leader for targets between these two to start the season. The main hype in Jets’ camp has been for Chris Herndon and Jamison Crowder. Both look to be favored by Sam Darnold early in the season.

In this series we will look at the most important fantasy football position battles for each NFL team. Opportunity is king in fantasy, as you can’t produce fantasy statistics without getting on the field. So, the first step when looking for value plays is to project, correctly, which players will win training camp battles.

The Jets skill positions are pretty much set, but there has been significant turnover at the starting wide receiver positions. Both of their starting outside receivers will be new, as Denzel Mims is a rookie and Breshad Perriman is a free agent. With Jamison Crowder in the slot, Chris Herndon at tight end and Le’Veon Bell at running back, underneath and over the middle routes will be taken care of, but who between Mims and Perriman will take over as the No. 1?

Perriman is a late bloomer, as he didn’t break out until late last season despite his rookie year coming in 2016. The Jets are his fourth team in five seasons, but after his good finish to 2019, he got a one-year deal worth up to $8 million with $6 million guaranteed. That’s a good number despite the length of the contract and all but guarantees him the starting job.

Mims lasted longer in the draft than many thought, as he went 59th overall in the second round. That’s still a number that pushes your status with your new team up though. And without any real competition after the top three receivers, Mims should be safe to see work early.

Perriman and Mims have similar skill sets but Mims could prove himself much faster than Perriman did. They are likely set to be about even on the depth chart to start the season, but I like Mims and think he can make an impact from the start.

Verdict

The Jets passing game can’t support all of their worthy starters, so we can’t be overly high on any of them, but Mims is the real deal and I rather grab him later than drafts than Perriman.