Former Florida wide receiver Keon Coleman was on “7pm in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony” and feels that the NFL Scouting Combine overvalues the metrics and players don’t get to showcase their talent.
Keon Coleman Not a Fan of the NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up last week and NFL prospects did their best to raise their stock and have a positive impression on scouts with the draft just over a month away. Buffalo Bills rookie WR Keon Coleman spoke on the combine and how he feels players don’t get to showcase their talents and it becomes too reliant on metrics.
After two years as a Michigan State Spartan, Coleman transferred to the Florida State Seminoles and had 50 receptions for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns before declaring for the NFL Draft. The rookie was a key weapon for Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and the WR went off for 556 yards and four touchdowns, having been taken at the beginning of the second round.
Coleman landed with the Bills as the 33rd overall pick, but prior to that, many analysts had Coleman dropping down the board, and some felt he was going to be a real gamble in the draft. After the successful rookie season, he has shown that a poor combine performance shouldn’t be a marker for the 2025 NFL prospects.
When asked about his biggest lesson from his rookie year, Coleman said “be where your feet are and hold yourself to a different level.”
There was a four-game stretch where Coleman was out injured and that stopped him from hitting his goal of a 1000-yard season, but he got back and helped the team win and fall just short of a Super Bowl appearance yet again.
Coleman lowered his expectations after the injury: “We were winning, so I didn’t even care. As long as I can make a play in the biggest moments, I’ll enjoy it. There are roles on offense, there are assignments. Once I came back, I knew my role was different from when I was previously in the lineup, so I accepted it and said, “Let’s go win it all.”
It was a very mature answer from one of the best rookie wide receivers in the NFL, and he spoke about how during the combine process teams were mad at him for eating fruit snacks.
“We got linemen out here running the 40 yard dash and vertical jumping, when they ever doing that?” he added.
Lately, it has become a conversation over how important the NFL Scouting Combine is. Many top talents in drafts are not taking part and opting to use their Pro Day to showcase their talent to scouts.
Shedeur Sanders was one of many prospects who just took part in interviews and felt that he had enough film for scouts to watch.
It does seem every year that less and less attention is paid to the combine, and the Bills disregarded it last year and landed Coleman, so it worked out just fine.
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Some players it works brilliantly and their athleticism adds to what is seen on film, such as Nick Emmanwori having ridiculous physical stats and flying up many draft boards.
Other players aren’t so fortunate and it takes teams attention away from their talent and just critique them physically.
Many will feel it is something that isn’t needed and it will be interesting to see in this year’s NFL Draft who doesn’t factor in the combine and who does, and what success that has.
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