Denzel Mims a Healthy Scratch on Sunday as Jets Continue to Shelve WR

If there's one thing the Jets know, it's drama. And they have more of it with wide receiver Denzel Mims.

Mims, 23, was the Jets' 2nd round selection in the 2020 draft, but was a healthy scratch in Sunday's 25-6 loss to the Patriots. Tucked behind Braxton Berrios, Keelan Cole and Jeff Smith on the depth chart, Mims couldn't crack the field even with the absence of Jets WR1 Jamison Crowder. Mims was limited to just three snaps during Week 1.

Mims' inclusion on the inactive list has stuck out to many, prompting head coach Robert Saleh to address it during the postgame press conference.

“Denzel, he had a real good week of work. He’s just got to continue on what he did and just understand that there’s special teams involved. There’s the Z, the X and if he can capitalize off what he did this week, I don’t anticipate this being much longer," Saleh said. "At the same time, I don’t see Jeff and Keelan and all those guys relenting. They’re every bit as deserving of being on the football field, too. He’s got to be better than those guys. That’s the bottom line.”

While Saleh might say that Cole and Smith are ahead of Mims on the depth chart, the results haven't shown to be the case. Cole was targetless on Sunday while Smith had one catch for 35 yards. The Jets' offense was anemic all day long, and rookie quarterback Zach Wilson threw four interceptions. Saleh's team has scored just 20 points in the first two games of the season.

Mims was injured for half the season last year, but still had 23 catches and 357 yards in eight games. His production was solid, all things considered. What's important to note is that Saleh did not draft Mims. Former head coach Adam Gase, who was fired during the offseason, did.

Saleh, meanwhile, spent his own second round pick this year on Elijah Moore, who is clearly better than Mims. At this point, Mims might be better suited somewhere else. It remains unclear whether moving him is an option, but it's hard to watch someone with Mims' talent sit on the bench on arguably the worst team in the NFL.