New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandon Coleman still has much to prove
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandon Coleman may not have lived up to his preseason hype in 2015, but don’t count him out just yet.
After a 2014 tenure on the New Orleans Saints‘ practice squad following his addition to the team as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers, wide receiver Brandon Coleman was finally called upon for a true role with the team in 2015.
From the start of minicamp through the end of training camp at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, the hype surrounding Brandon Coleman was about as real as it gets.
Following the departure of All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham in addition to the decline of Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints were in search of a new big man, a target for Drew Brees to look for in the red zone.
Displaying good speed, route separation, play-making ability, as well as looking like he had overcome the dropped passes we saw from a year ago, Coleman was one of the big stars at training camp, shining his way onto the 53-man roster. Both the local and national media were gushing over him as a breakout candidate for the 2015 season.
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The hype stopped there. Coleman was in no way, shape, or form a bad wideout. He just never really found his rhythm. That preseason momentum never carried over into the regular season. However, you could tell he was growing both physically and mentally as the season progressed.
His best performance came in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers, totaling four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown and proving himself capable of an expanded role if he can remain consistent..
Brandon Coleman finished his debut season as Drew Brees’ No. 7 man on the passing totem pole, tallying just 30 catches for 454 yards and two touchdowns. However, he finished first among wide receivers with 15.1 yards per reception.
Rewinding to the part about a declining Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints will soon have to address his future, but they could be closer to finding his successor than most people think. Saints general Manager Mickey Loomis will concur. “Brandon Coleman is a big guy out of Rutgers that has done some good things,” Loomis told SiriusXM NFL Radio in an interview Tuesday evening. “I think in many ways he is the heir apparent to Marques.”
Loomis says Coleman is “in many ways the heir apparent to Marques Colston”
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) February 17, 2016
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Could the New Orleans Saints delay their search for Colston’s replacement? Is the search already over? That has yet to be determined. With free agency just around the corner and the NFL Draft set to kick off at the end of April, the Black and Gold could very well add another intriguing weapon for Drew Brees and his high-powered offense.
However, the 6-foot-6 Brandon Coleman still has much to prove. He without question has some mistakes to correct and confidence to build, but his arrow is indeed pointing up.