Florida State’s Keon Coleman has some impressive highlight-reel catches, but lacks the production of a top wide receiver.
Quite the polarizing prospect, let’s examine Coleman’s football history and how he became a potential first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Where Did Keon Coleman’s Football Career Start?
Coleman went to high school at Opelousas Catholic School in Opelousas, La. A tremendous athlete, Coleman played both football and basketball.
Talented in two sports, the collegiate offers flew in for the four-star recruit. Coleman received a whopping 43 of them, the majority from schools competitive in football and basketball.
In 2021, Coleman enrolled at Michigan State.
Revisiting Coleman’s College Career
Michigan State
As a true freshman, Coleman did not redshirt. He wasn’t heavily involved, but he was involved enough, catching seven passes for 50 yards and a touchdown in 10 games.
After football season had ended, Coleman played basketball under legendary coach Tom Izzo.
In his sophomore year, Coleman’s commitment to football as his main sport took precedence. He was a starter, appearing in 12 games, and had his breakout season.
MORE: Top WRs in the 2024 NFL Draft
Coleman hauled in 58 passes for 798 yards and seven touchdowns. He led Michigan State in receiving yards. Coleman did return to the basketball team, but given that he was coming off an injury, he, along with coaches, decided he should focus exclusively on football.
Florida State
Unfortunately for Michigan State, Coleman’s decision to focus solely on football did not include them. Ahead of the 2023 season, he transferred to Florida State.
Coleman played his junior year with the Seminoles. In his first game with his new school, Coleman made his presence known. Against LSU, Coleman caught nine passes for 122 yards and a career-best three touchdowns.
Former Michigan St. WR Keon Coleman was IMPRESSIVE in his Florida St. debut 🔥@IC_Draft and @DaltonBMiller discuss the new FSU star and their 2024 NFL Draft Big Board on the #PFN365 Scouting Podcast!
🎧: https://t.co/La1qKd46Tg#GoNoles pic.twitter.com/z2BK2LiwfK
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 7, 2023
In total, Coleman reeled in 50 balls for 698 yards and 11 touchdowns in his lone season at Florida State.
At the end of December, Coleman declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Coleman’s Potential in the NFL
Coleman is one of the more polarizing prospects in this year’s class. If anyone is this draft’s Quentin Johnston, it very well might be Coleman.
Nevertheless, Coleman is not without NFL-level skills. Pro Football Network draft analyst Ian Cummings is quite high on Coleman.
“Coleman is my WR4 in the 2024 NFL Draft and a potential top-15 prospect. He’s a first-round talent in the impact starter range as a prospect, behind only Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze on my board,” Cummings said. “That may be a bullish projection after just two seasons of production.
“Still, Coleman has shown several translatable traits during his standout 2022 campaign across all three levels of wide receiver play. At 6’4″, 215 pounds, Coleman is a surprisingly complete three-level threat and can outmatch defensive backs in all phases.”
One of the criticisms of Coleman is how heavily reliant he was on contested catches. That’s been a major red flag for previous top prospects who wound up not panning out at the NFL level. But Cummings sees upside in Coleman’s route running as well.
“As a route runner, Coleman can tempo his releases and use foot speed, twitch, and targeted physicality to separate, and he has the swivel freedom to cut tight angles on route breaks.
“After the catch, Coleman combines explosiveness, speed, one-cut agility, contact balance, and physicality to torment defensive backs. He can be used on designed touches like screens, sweeps, drags, and slants to maximize his ability in open space.”
MORE: Ian Cummings’ Full Scouting Report of Keon Coleman
There are certainly concerns with Coleman’s profile and limited production. It would not be a surprise if he were the next QJ or N’Keal Harry. But there’s no denying the potential exists for Coleman to be a true alpha at the NFL level.
Highlights, Records, and More
Coleman was named third-team All-Big Ten in 2022 prior to transferring to Florida State.
In 2023, Coleman earned first-team All-ACC honors, but not just as a wide receiver. He did so at the all-purpose and specialist positions, as well. Will Shipley was the only other athlete to be selected to the first-team at three spots.
CFN gave Coleman an honorable mention on its list of 2023 All-American specialists.
Coleman enters the NFL with arguably the widest range of outcomes of any of the potential first-round picks. It will be very interesting to see the type of player he ends up becoming.
Draft with your friends today! PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator now supports multiple drafters during the same draft! Find out how the PFN Scouting Department ranks this year’s prospects with our 2024 NFL Draft Big Board and follow along throughout the draft with our NFL team needs tracker.
