Brandon Coleman to declare for the 2014 draft

As you can see in the video above, Brandon Coleman has officially announced he’s going to enter the 2014 NFL draft.

“I feel like I’m ready to go.”

I’m sure this wasn’t the way he intended to turn pro. Here’s Coleman’s statistical difference between 2012 and 2013:

Eleven less catches. 245 less yards. Seven fewer touchdowns.

I still think he made the right decision today.

Sometimes you have to play the hand your dealt. Rutgers haven’t had a good year. Quarterback Gary Nova didn’t make any noticeable improvement. Off-season knee surgery took away a lot of Coleman’s pre-season work.

Staying at Rutgers for another season only offered the opportunity to add further disappointment to his CV. With the greatest respect to the Scarlet Knights, are they going to come storming back to prominence in 2014? Are they going to put up big yardage in the passing game?

I’d guess not.

And let’s remember, twelve months ago Coleman was debating whether to enter the 2013 draft. Going back for another season this year hasn’t done anything for his stock.

So while Coleman isn’t heading into the NFL with any momentum, he’s doing what he almost has to do. And he won’t be the first player going into the league with something to prove.

First things first — teams will want to check out that knee to make sure it won’t be an issue. Assuming he gets the all clear there — and ignoring the stats for a moment — we’re talking about a player with major upside value.

He could be the next Josh Gordon. Seriously.

Big, tall, fast. He’s a playmaker waiting to happen. And while technically he has some way to go — it’s nothing that can’t be solved with good coaching.

I’ll be really interested to see how fast he runs at the combine. It’s been a while since a guy with his size ran away from defensive backs in college. That’s what he did last year. He left them for dead, breaking huge gains and putting up big YAC.

This is what he’s capable of…

Right now Josh Gordon is the flavour of the month and for good reason. Despite the horrendous quarterback situation in Cleveland, Gordon is making 150-200 yards every week. You can’t stop him. And people are starting to suggest he might be the best receiver in the NFL right now.

(For what it’s worth, that honour stays with Calvin Johnson in my opinion — but Gordon’s in the top five without question)

Go back a year, after the Browns took him in the supplemental draft. He was inconsistent as a rookie — making some plays but also struggling as you’d expect. Now he’s reached a level of comfort (he has a very good offensive coordinator in Norv Turner, and an underrated Head Coach in Rob Chudzinski) we’re seeing how good he can be.

But it took him a little time to get there.

This will be the same situation with Coleman. He needs to learn to high point the ball better. He needs to go up and win jump balls — max out his size and become a difference maker. He needs to run sharper routes and stay focused — avoiding the mistakes and occasional lousy drops.

With a bit of a polish he could be whatever he wants to be.

Of course, for every Josh Gordon there’s a Stephen Hill. Drafted in round two by the New York Jets in 2012 — Hill had everything. Ideal size, speed, potential. And it’s never clicked.

Part of that might be the embarrassing offense the Jets have fielded for the last two years (under two different coordinators). But it’s worth highlighting that while Gordon is now an emphatic success in Cleveland — there’s always another side to the story.

People are cautiously estimating a mid-round grade for Coleman based on his disappointing season. I think it’s too early to tell.

If he trains well, gets clearance on the knee and also runs well at the combine — he could be an early pick. Late first, early second. Stranger things have happened.

How many 4.4/4.5 runners are there at 6-6 and 220lbs?

Remember, teams will buy into potential. Coleman has a ton of it. And Gary Nova won’t be throwing him passes in the NFL.

Don’t sleep on this guy as an early option for the Seahawks. They love to draft players with difference making athletic skills. Pete Carroll is on the record for admiring bigger receivers. And it’s something he doesn’t have in Seattle right now.

Coleman will be one of the more intriguing players to follow in this class. And it wouldn’t be a major upset if he ended up in that first or second round range with a solid off-season.

And who knows? He could very easily end up in Seattle.

25 Comments

  1. Nolan

    I think Colmen would be an ideal pick up for the Hawks even if he is number 4 on the depth chart behind Harvin, Baldwin, Tate maybe even Kearse they can let him marinate similar to how they have with christin Michael this year. I think out side of a guy like Coleman DL must be emphasized as our depth is good this year but we might lose a few pieces in the offseason, will we be able to resign Tony McDaniel? Remember Branch got a pretty decent deal in Byffalo and I think McDaniel has been better this year then branch was. Clint McDonald is another nice player who will be a free agent. Then the bigger name is Michael Bennett who might need a big deal. Then will we cut Mebane or a Bryant to make room for others? Depth along the Dline will be key going forward and has had a big part in our much improved pass rush this year.

  2. Dannn

    Coleman and Washington from Mizzou really intrigue me. Pete is a height/speed/weight guy, it’s about that time to grab one. I think rice, mebane/bryant are for sure gone, maybe a restructure of Zack’s deal also. I just have total faith in this F.O., especially with the draft

  3. Stuart

    Rob, you sold me on Coleman when he was a sophomore. He will likely be long gone before our pick in R-2. If PC/JS want him, then it will likely have to be with our R-1 (32).

    Drafting a WR can be a real crap shoot. Even if you hit, it can take 2-4 seasons for the player to blossom. Last year WR Hopkins would likely have been our choice. He has played well this season, especially earlier in the season. Now Hunter, Patterson and Keenan Allen are lighting it up.

    Do you think this years WR crop is as good as last years? Based on last years rookie WR’s, how would you rank their order right now?

    • Rob Staton

      This is a better crop of WR’s for me. Keenan Allen has been insane, but Hunter’s not really registered. Patterson is hit and miss. I think we’re going to see a lot of 2014 receivers having an impact as rookies.

  4. ivotuk

    I hate it when people use random acronyms in their stories, it brings a great read to a screeching halt while the reader tries to figure out what CV means? Love most of your work Rob but is it that hard to spell it out?

    I’ve been interested in Coleman ever since you first wrote about him, what 2 years ago? Or was it a year? He looked great and I was surprised that he didn’t enter the draft. Any idea why he skipped the 2013 draft? I had the impression he was being loyal to his team but that’s just a guess.

    Is it true he has been there 4 years? That’s a long time for someone with that kind of potential. Would love to see him become a Seahawk because I think he can be a real threat if his knee is healthy.

    • Michael M.

      My guess is either “Current Value” or maybe “College Video”?

      • Michael M.

        Oo this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum_vitae

        • Cysco

          CV is a very common term, not a random acronym. It’s another term for resume. Hey! You learned something today!

    • Elijah

      It stands for curriculum vitae – pretty much his resume with all his experience and honors

    • UKhawk

      CV is in fact Curriculum vitae which means resume but is much more commonly used as an English colloquialism for ones general body of work. Having lived as an American in the UK for 20 years I get it and can understand why it ironically needs to be spelled out for my fellow Yanks?! Nevertheless, let’s give our resident Brit, Rob, a break! I’m amazed his commentary doesn’t have more translation errors and is so Americanis/zed. Especially considering the hugely laughable Queens English TV commentary I used to have to put up with in years gone by when watching the NFL on English broadcast.

      • JamesP

        Ooops, didn’t read down far enough!

    • JamesP

      This is a US/UK thing. CV means resume for you guys.

      • Trenchtown

        CVs are very common in the U.S. in the science and medical fields. You occasionally see them in law as well.

  5. ivotuk

    Any idea how he injured his knee?

    • Rob Staton

      Think he had a procedure to tidy a few things up, rather than it being a serious injury. But the surgery kept him out of camp.

  6. peter

    Rob, Brandon Coleman would be amazing. Since you’ve been singing his praises I’ve sort of enjoyed other wrs getting praise over him. Maybe this one time one of your early scouting profiles will land with the hawks.

    ivotuk, cv is an acronym true, but one that essentially the whole world except the u.s. Citizens, including our fearless English blogger uses for “resume.” it probably isn’t hard to spell curriculum vitae but I think as many people would be confused by the Latin as the acronym!

  7. SunPathPaul

    Coleman added to Percy/Tate/Baldwin and Kearse would be sick. Add the TE’s Miller/Willson/McCoy and we r working it off the chain!

    If we had a chance at Mike Evans for some reason, Rob, would you choose Evans, or Coleman?

    Coleman seems to be the taller baller…

    • Rob Staton

      I would probably go Evans, just because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy win jump balls like him before. Plus watching Manziel’s magic act and the way Evans bails him out — I just thought of Wilson scrambling every time. I’m a huge Evans fan in terms of drafting him for the Seahawks.

      • JW

        There’s a legitimate and realistic way a team could get both. They’d make an impressive combo. Especially if said team had an emerging star QB and, say, an x factor WR in the slot, for instance….

        Not that I think it will happen, but I wouldn’t be opposed if it did.

  8. UKhawk

    Love Coleman. Agree R1 may be too high considering the Hawks other needs and R2 maybe/not too late

  9. House

    Brandon Coleman’s underwhelming season could be a blessing for the team he “slips” to. While players like Benjamin can be over-drafted because of tremendous hype, Coleman should come into the NFL hungry and looking to prove something. We have a WR corps right now that wouldn’t need him to be am instant producer, so learning NFL speed and the playbook will definitely help him early on

    • Rob Staton

      It’s a good point, it really could be a blessing in disguise.

  10. Mark

    If Brandon Coleman somehow falls to us, that would be a coup. I would gladly take him.

    Also, not to beat a dead horse, but I’ve heard the term CV used pretty frequently in conversation. (Both CV and resume, btw, translate as “useless piece of paper that will be set aside and never looked at again as soon as they are received by any prospective employer” in Latin and French, respectively.)

  11. Norm M

    It seems like Colman is a Carroll’s kind of receiver. Big, tall and fast. He would compliment the Havin/Tate type guys as a huge target for Wilson. That being said, if he has a solid combine and workouts I just can’t see him slipping to the 32nd pick. Even with a sub par year he has the body type and speed to be “over drafted” based solely on potential. I would not be surprised at all if he went in the 20-25 range even with a mediocre combine. If he is there, I would be ecstatic if we picked him up.

  12. bigDhawk

    My completely unprofessional opinion is that his joints look somehow small and fragile relative to the rest of his frame and I just get the impression he may be one of those players that is chronically injury prone. I used to be dead set against the idea of Mike Evans, but at least I don’t think he will ever run fast enough to get himself seriously hurt like Coleman might. Plus Rob’s love for the jump ball ability of Evans is slowly changing my mind. Not that he will be available to us at 32 nor that we should move up to get him…just saying.

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