2024 NFL Draft: Keon Coleman Is Unlocking All Phases To His Game
From under the radar and potential breakout star to potential top-10 pick.
Let’s flash back to the 2022 season. Keon Coleman was a bright spot on yet another underwhelming Michigan State team. He caught 58 passes for 798 yards and seven touchdowns, and was primarily the jump ball guy for quarterback Payton Thorne when he was out of options in the progression. At times throwing it up to Coleman was part of the plan, with Thorne taking advantage of his catching instincts and leap timing to high point and win the ball at the catch point.
The excitement for Coleman built a little bit after he transferred to Florida State, joining quarterback Jordan Travis and a budding unit of skill position transfers.
It didn’t take long for Coleman to show the college football world that 2023 would bring about the best version of himself. In the opener against LSU, Coleman caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns.
It was clinical in the sense of showing off a three-phase, complete skill set. He won as a route runner with crisp movement through his route breaks. On one rep in the slot, Coleman directed his stem at the inside leveraged defender, quickly stacked the slot defender, and peeked inside with his head, creating great separation. He worked into the blind spot once a corner got into side saddle technique on a curl route, creating a huge window.
His size came in handy as well to fight through contact, and he brought the ability to attack the catch point and win in contested spots. His adjustment skills and the ability to use his frame to wall off defenders makes winning the catch point an easy task. One of his touchdowns showed off how slippery he can be after the catch.
He hasn’t had a season of gaudy numbers. He’s only caught 46 passes on 80 targets for 639 yards and 11 touchdowns. Still, he has had big games when Florida State needed it. He slashed 5/86/2 against Clemson, had 9/140/1 against Syracuse, and 7/66/2 against Wake Forest.
That complete skill set has shown up in other games. He made a clutch catch with his in air athleticism against Clemson, walling off a defender at the catch point. Coleman uses his size and strength to win with physicality at the top of his stem in order to create separation. His long touchdown against Syracuse was a great double move. He’s flashed arrogant hands, securing the ball away from his frame with good technique and has brought in one-handed highlight plays. Against Southern Miss, Coleman made a great catch along the sideline, staying controlled and balanced to keep himself in the field of play. Then, his elusiveness took over, making the first defender miss and hurdling another for a big gain.
Not to mention, Coleman brings that physicality as a run blocker, something that will endear himself to teams when he meets with them throughout the draft process.
Coleman’s flashes unlocking these phases is very fun to watch, but the key will be turning flashes into consistency. As good a catch-point winner as Coleman is, he’s just won 10 out of his 30 contested catch opportunities. That isn’t all on him per se, but it’s something that is hard to stack success over the years (see Watson, Christian and Pickens, George).
His post-catch work is the most encouraging right now. Being a proactive player in terms of catch-to-attack transition, which looks at how proactive one’s footwork, vision, and awareness is when transitioning from the catch point into a yards after catch playmaker, is going to help Coleman out a lot. It’s something that Drake London was very good at coming out of college.
In terms of his release and route running, the flashes look very good. How he operates early in his route stem is going to be crucial. Coleman must get better at playing physical and on time in his routes, something that Wake Forest corner Caelen Carson took advantage of in their matchup. Carson contacted Coleman early and often, disrupting his routes all game long and winning the physicality battle.
Keon Coleman is taking all the right steps in terms of improving his game in all three phases, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as he’s (likely) set to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Flashes of improvement are great, and they show off the high ceiling, but honing consistency is the key to his career becoming a prosperous one.