Will teams’ value Coleman’s game speed?
A lot of stock can get put into athletic testing. A great performance at the NFL Scouting Combine can vault an unknown player to national prominence. A poor performance, however, can tank a player’s draft stock.
In that regard, Florida State receiver Keon Coleman is going to be a fascinating case study. Coleman had a breakout season after transferring from Michigan State to Florida State in 2023. He was very well regarded for his size, body control, and ability in contested catch situations.
What makes his case truly intriguing, he ran the second-slowest 40 time (4.61 seconds) at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. On the flip side, he was the fastest and smoothest receiver in the gauntlet drill, showing great hands and setting the top speed.
Coleman’s size and ball skills could be a useful addition to the New York Giants receiving corps. However, they’ve also made concerted efforts to add speed to their offense over the last year. Would Coleman be in play? Or is he sliding down their board?
Prospect: Keon Coleman (4)
Games Watched: vs. LSU (2023), vs. Boston College (2023), vs. Clemson (2023), vs. Wake Forest (2023)
Measurables
Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS.football
Strengths
- Size
- Body control
- Ball skills
- Contested catch
- Play speed
Coleman is a big, smooth, and competitive receiving prospect.
Coleman has great size for the position at 6-foot-3, 213 pounds with easy change of direction skills, a powerful lower body, and good body control overall.
He played from a number of different alignments in the Florida State offense and could be either a wide receiver or a “big slot” at the next level. Coleman has an efficient release off the line of scrimmage, wasting little motion or energy getting into his routes. Likewise, he is a very smooth mover and generally runs his routes well. He’s smooth in and out of his breaks and is able to work to the catch window without losing speed.
Those traits and skills combine to give him good “game speed” despite having pedestrian foot speed.
He has a solid understanding of route combination and coverages, allowing him to position himself well to maximize the catch window as well as prevent defenders from making easy plays on the ball.
Coleman has very good ball skills, quickly locating the ball in flight, tracking it downfield, and making quick adjustments at the last instant. He is also a “hands” catcher who is able to pluck the ball out of the air, as well as adjust to haul in awkwardly placed passes.
Taken as a whole, Coleman is an excellent contested catch receiver. His size and play strength allow him to fight through coverage, while his positioning, ball skills, and body control allow him to contort and make difficult catches in tight quarters. He has strong hands to hang onto the ball through contact, good leaping ability to climb the ladder and high-point the ball, and some ability to pick up yardage after the catch as well.
Weaknesses
- Separation
- Long speed
- Twitch
- Agility
- Burst
- Blocking
Coleman may have good game speed, but he’s a relatively slow player overall. He ran a 4.61 second 40-yard dash at 213 pounds, and the poor speed (for a receiver) shows up at times in his tape.
He lacks the ability to truly threaten defensive backs deep and they rarely have to break their backpedal early, or force them to respect his deep speed. Likewise, he isn’t a twitchy athlete who can explode out of his breaks and stress corners who try to keep up with him through his routes.
Because of that, he rarely generates much separation with his route running, despite his routes generally being well-run. Coleman has a reputation as a contested catch artist, however too many of his catches are contested because he struggles to create consistent separation.
Coleman could also stand development as a blocker. He isn’t unwilling – though he doesn’t appear zealous, either – and he has the size and strength to be an effective blocker. However, he needs to get better at positioning himself and sustaining his blocks.
Game Tape
(Coleman is FSU wide receiver number 4)
Projection
Coleman projects as a good possession receiver at the NFL level.
His relative lack of athleticism could be a hindrance at the next level, as he already struggles to consistently create separation. However, he could become a very dependable option in an offense that uses route combinations to create separation. His route running and ball skills would be assets on the receiving end of those concepts, while his size would be useful in creating space for his teammates.
Coleman shouldn’t be expected to line up in one-on-one situations with cornerbacks and dominate them physically. NFL corners will likely find it easy to stay with him throughout his routes without additional traffic. However, his route running and body control could allow him to become a “Cooper Kupp” like player in the right offense, winning as a technician as opposed to with raw athleticism.
Does he fit the Giants?
Potentially, as a possession receiver
Final Word: A Day 2 value