Keon Coleman is a former three-star from the 2019 recruiting class who held 43 offers during his recruitment. He’s a product out of Louisiana and attended Opelousas Catholic during his prep career. Not only does Coleman have elite size at 6’4″ and 215 pounds, but he also has immense versatility as he’s a three-sport athlete playing football, basketball, and track.
Coleman had a very productive season during his junior year, posting 35 catches for 1,143 yards and 22 touchdowns. Also, during his junior year, he excelled at basketball, averaging 26 points per game and scored a career-high 63 points against Sacred Heart, according to msuspartans.com. He also has positional versatility on the football field, considering he played both wide receiver and defensive back
During Coleman’s freshman season with the Spartans, he played in 10 games and only saw nine targets come his way. Of those nine targets, three were catches for 27 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State. This season, it looks like Coleman has taken the next step in his development and is playing at a much higher level, manifesting his basketball skills to get above the rim over defenders in contested situations.
His size offers an advantage as he can box out the defenders, quickly fighting for position and securing the ball by framing his hands to catch outside his body. In this past game against Washington, Coleman showcased his ability to identify the ball’s trajectory, make complex adjustments to be on time at the catch point, and have great awareness to help his quarterback and secure the catch in the end zone.
His stature and physicality give him an edge against his opponent. There are still questions about his ability as a route runner and how he can separate with fluid, quick cutting movements, and manipulation. To this point in his career, it looks like he can outmuscle his opponent to gain separation, but he will have to be much more nuanced, and fluid in his route breaks for his game to translate to the NFL level.
Only three games in, so there’s still so much more football left to see how Coleman’s season plays out, but his on-field performance and the analytics show that he’s on the verge of a breakout season. At just 19 years old, starting his sophomore year, Coleman will be a young rookie once he enters the NFL Draft. A sophomore breakout would be tremendous for his dynasty profile and his confidence as he develops his craft this season.
Dominator Rating: 33.66%
Weighted Dominator Rating: 30.23%
* WEIGHTED DOMINATOR RATING – Adjusted dominator rating prioritizes yards over touchdowns and includes receptions in a ratio of 25:50:25.
Target Share: 30.5%
Yards per team pass attempt: 2.38
aDOT: 15
Yards per route run: 2.41
NFL passer rating when targeted: 99.2
Overall, Coleman looks like he has the make-up of a true outside receiver with red zone threat ability. He comes with some caution as he is still raw as a route runner and relies on physicality to gain separation. His long speed is questionable, but he shows explosiveness once into the open field. To this point, Coleman has earned the right to be a top 100 devy prospect and needs to be on radars as a possible breakout season is on the horizon.
