LeBron James: Retirement is “up to my kids”
May 13, 2016Stipe Miocic is on the cusp of the UFC heavyweight championship
May 13, 2016With their first round pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, No. 15 overall, the Browns selected the play-making receiver Corey Coleman out of Baylor. The Browns were in great desperation for a receiver, so nabbing Coleman fits a big need for the team. In 12 games as a junior last season at Baylor, he caught 74 passes for 1,363 yards and 20 touchdowns. He led the Division I-A in touchdown receptions, while ranking ninth in receiving yards.
So, what are the Browns getting in wide receiver Corey Coleman? Let’s take a look at the film to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the Browns first round pick.
Strengths
Speed
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As you can see from this play against Lamar last season, has breakaway speed to run past the entire defense. On a simple go route, he had blazing speed to beat the off coverage corner over the top. The safety in the play had absolutely no chance to help out his corner because of Coleman’s speed.
At his pro day at Baylor, he ran an impressive 4.37 second 40-yard dash. This speed he possesses helps him in all areas of his game. His speed helps him get separation from the coverage, as you can see above, without even perfect technique or route running. After the catch, he can use his speed to run away from the defenders and make a catch into an even bigger play. His speed also could help him become a punt or kick returner for the Browns. His big time speed makes him a big time playmaker.
Explosive Ball Skills
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This play shows Coleman’s explosive ball skills that allow him to win 50-50 balls against a defender. He went up and got the ball over the Kansas State defender. He exploded into the air and reached the ball, catching the ball on top of the cornerback’s helmet. He was able to make the catch through contact.
Even with his shorter size at 5-foot-11, his explosive ball skills make him a red zone target for the Browns. He has explosive legs allows him to play taller than he is, jumping high for balls and outreaching a pass versus a corner. This gives him another way to score touchdowns for the Browns.
Quickness/Suddenness
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This play shows how Coleman’s quickness and suddenness can impact his game in multiple ways. The first sign of his suddenness is route. He makes a quick cut back to the football, leaving the corner going backwards and giving him separation to make the catch. The next sign of his quickness and suddenness is his ability to make multiple West Virginia defenders miss. After the catch, he made the same defender miss twice using his quick cuts and body control to evade the tackle. He ended never even being tackled. Yes, he did not gain any yardage doing it, but it shows he has this unique ability to be quick and sudden in a small area. His quickness and suddenness improves his ability to separate from coverage and make plays after the catch.
After-the-Catch Ability
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This play shows the excellent ability of Coleman after the catch. In this play, he used his explosion and athleticism to jump over the first West Virginia defender. He then used quickness and agility to juke the second defender and quickly dart up field for big gain. This play shows his ability to extend simple catches into longer and bigger plays for the offense. This could be the best attribute Coleman possesses as a receiver. He can make defenders miss with elusiveness, speed and even power. He has the ability to make multiple tacklers miss on one play. He played quite a few snaps at running back because of his ability as a runner. He is just tough to bring down after making the catch.
Big Play Ability
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This clip is one of many big plays that Coleman made in college career. This play was made strictly because of his speed to beat the entire defense over the top, out-running his coverage. With the help of all the strengths that I just illustrated, Coleman can make big plays on any play. In college, he averaged 18.4 yards per catch. He can make big plays in vertical passes like the one above or on plays where he makes plays after the catch. He could also be a big play producer on special teams as a kick or punt returner.
Weaknesses
Hands
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This play shows that Coleman can sometimes have a problem with catching the ball. The pass was thrown right into his hands, but he just dropped it before any contact from the Oklahoma State cornerback was made. Last season he dropped 10 passes in total for Baylor. He can sometimes get too lazy and let the ball land into his hands, rather than going for the ball. The Baylor receiver can make the hard catches, but he can lose focus and drop an easier pass. He must become more consistent at catching the ball in order for him to really be the big time receiver the Browns need.
Route Running
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This video shows an area where Coleman needs to work on when he gets into the league: Route running. The route above was pretty obvious, lacking suddenness or a sharp cut inside. The lack of that, along with his high running stance throughout the route, allowed the Kansas corner to react quickly and break up the potential touchdown catch. He should have played his line harder, either faking to go outside or continue forward, giving the corner some doubt.
Coleman has shown the ability to be a good route running, where he was sharp and made separation from the coverage, but he is far too inconsistent. Another part of his improvement in this area will be learning more intricate routes. As you can see by just the clips above, he did not run a wide array of routes. Most of the routes were go routes, screens, comeback routes and post routes. Many times, the Baylor offense called for him to not even run a route. The receiver will need to learn more routes and how he can gain even more separation if he ran them properly. Coleman has the athleticism to be a great route runner, it will just come down to his work at the next level.
Size
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This clip shows that his smaller size can hinder his game in certain situations. In the play, the Kansas cornerback was able to push Coleman off his route, pushing him into the sideline and out of the play. He was eliminated from the play, with the play ending in an incompletion.
At 5-foot-11, 194 pounds, he can be pushed off his line, disrupting his route. His lack of size could also impact his ability to beat press coverage versus the bigger corners of the NFL. So, his lack of size could be a obstruction to some parts of his game.
9 Comments
Great stuff, thanks Joe! This kid gives off some serious ODB vibes. Put the ball in his hands and let the magic happen.
good stuff JOE … i think many of us liked treadwell & doctson … coleman is faster & shiftier than those 2 … should be fun to watch.
can’t wait to hear more on louis , payton & higgins.
Work ethic will determine whether this guy becomes an impact player. Blazing speed with iffy hands are never good enough in the NFL, defensive backs being too fast, strong and smart. He’ll have to run more precise routes to sow doubt in a db’s mind and give himself room to operate.
But he looks strong and muscular, and that’s promising. Whatever his height, this is not a smurf who will go down with a finger tackle and if he learns to release off the line he’ll draw safety attention just like a number 1 should. We’ll have to see how serious the hands thing is; concentration is fixable, stone hands are not.
I like how the “Quickness/Suddenness” clip shows him losing 3 yards of forward progress due to those attributes. Oh well. Point made.
On the Route Running section, he was clearly interfered with prior to the ball arriving. Not saying he doesn’t need improvement on his routes, but think that one is called PI most of the time.
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As Joe and others have pointed out, there are some things to “clean up”. Not much you can do with the height, but he is one fast receiver. I hope that shiftiness will do him well in the NFL……Coach him up on his deficiencies and get him out there!
Still better than Travis Benjamin in all areas.
His deficiencies aren’t nearly as bad as his proficiencies are good. It’s going to be hit or miss with him in his rookie season. But, his hits are going to win ballgames.