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With the No. 15 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected WR Corey Coleman of Baylor. This comes after the Browns had made a trade with the Titans while they were originally on the clock at No. 8 overall.
With the 15th pick in the 2016 #NFLDraft, the #Browns select WR Corey Coleman!https://t.co/y70ZWuKpl3
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 29, 2016
The Browns were in desperate need of wide receivers after not retaining WR Travis Benjamin in free agency, WR Dwayne Bowe being a bust last year (and then released), and WR Josh Gordon still being banned from the NFL due to substance abuse. Coleman should instantly become Cleveland's No. 1 receiver, and Hue Jackson will work to develop him like he did several receivers in Cincinnati. He is known as a speedster at 5-11, 190 lbs.
When the staff at Dawgs By Nature compiled our Browns big boards, Coleman was cumulatively listed as the No. 15 player on our big boards and the fifth remaining available player, as the team passed on a bigger, physical receiver in WR Laquon Treadwell. Here is a scouting report from CBS Sports' Dane Bruglar:
A three-year starter in Art Briles’ spread offense, Coleman was extremely productive over his career, especially as a junior with a NCAA-best 20 touchdown grabs, becoming the first receiver in school history to win the Biletnikoff Award – lined up inside, outside and at times flanked in the backfield. Coleman faced mostly soft cushions in the Big 12, which allowed 10-15 yard routes without a defender coming within five yards of him – relied on four main patterns (screens, hitches, in-cuts and go routes) and will need to fill out the rest of his route tree at the NFL level. While explosive in college, the wide-open Baylor offense is mostly half-field reads and unchallenged routes, making it difficult to compare his college film to what he’ll see in the NFL.
Despite his average height/length, Coleman is deceptively powerful with explosive athleticism and strong balance to be a threat at all levels of the field as both a pass-catcher and run-after-catch threat. He has above average hand-eye coordination to stab the ball away from his body and his intense, aggressive-minded demeanor allows him to play bigger than he looks. Although his pro evaluation requires a leap of faith due to Baylor’s offense, Coleman has the athletic traits and competitive temperament that suggest it’s only a matter of time before he finds success in the NFL – top-35 prospect who should see starting reps as a rookie.
What do you think, Browns fans?
[Check out our live blog of Round 1 of the NFL Draft for more]
DBN's Joe Ginley discussed the selection of Coleman on Facebook right after the pick was made: