Taking a Serious Look at 2016 NFL Draft Receivers for the St. Louis Rams

Corey Coleman, Baylor (5’11”, 185 lbs)

The first Baylor Bear to ever win the prized Biletnikoff Award (given to “the nation’s most outstanding receiver”) is now entering the 2016 NFL Draft. The last receiver to win the award was Amari Cooper, and he doesn’t look too shabby with Derek Carr on the Oakland Raiders.

The Dallas, Texas native is hoping that his superb talent will translate to the next level.

Why the Rams SHOULD Pick Coleman:

Corey Coleman has elite speed that could be deadly at the professional level. He was a track star in high school, and he proved such speed during his time at Baylor.

It’s almost too easy for Coleman to get past his defenders, averaging 18.4 yards per catch during his junior season. His 20 touchdowns is a very intriguing stat for Rams scouts, considering the team only threw for 11 touchdowns in the 2015 regular season.

Coleman’s draft stock is also rising because of his substantial progress and development as a football player in college. With every season, Coleman has seen improvement in all important receiving statistics (receptions, yards, average yards per reception, and touchdowns). This trajectory bodes well for his future as a professional.

Why the Rams SHOULD NOT Pick Coleman:

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Coleman is undersized. Even though receivers like Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham have become some of the best receivers in the NFL despite standing under 6 foot, Coleman doesn’t have the same skill set at this point of the draft process.

Whereas Brown and Beckham are fantastic route runners, Coleman is more of a deep threat who relies on speed to get past defenders. The offensive system in Baylor has a less complicated route tree than that of a pro scheme, so it is uncertain whether Coleman can make a smooth transition to the NFL. Coleman does, however, have extremely quick feet. Hopefully that will translate to better route running in the future.

Coleman also struggles with drops on short routes. We know he can make the tough catches while going deep, but if he is going to make an impact at the next level, he’ll need to work on making the easy catches on a weekly basis.

Even though I believe Coleman will be a productive player in the NFL, the Rams already have their small, speedy offensive weapon in Tavon Austin. It could be a bit redundant for the Rams to draft Coleman when Austin is developing his deep threat ability already.

However, you can never have enough weapons on offense, right? Especially if you have the worst passing offense in the league, anything helps!

Pro Comparison: Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos

Corey Coleman and Emmanuel Sanders are fast. And when I say fast, I mean fast. If Coleman can learn how to run professional routes and catch the football on all of them, he could end up being a quarterback’s best friend on game day.

Next: Tyler Boyd