2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Sammie Coates

Back on February 24, we had just published our second scouting report for the 2015 NFL Draft on Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Bryan Bennett. After that, I sort of slowed down on writing the reports and focused on NFL Free Agency. But, with that being said the scouting reports are back as we are 27 days away from the start of the 2015 NFL Draft. I know everybody is excited for the draft, so today I am going to take a look at Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates.

Coates, the redshirt junior had a productive career at Auburn, in which we saw him progress over time. He finished his career at Auburn with 82 receptions for 1,757 yards, to go along with 13 touchdowns and averaged 21.4 receiving yards per catch.

This past season at Auburn, Coates had 34 receptions for 741 yards and four touchdowns, which is still good. But his breakout season happened in 2013 when Auburn made it all the way to the National Championship taking on the Florida State Seminoles. That season, Coates had 42 receptions for 902 yards and seven touchdowns. In the National Championship game, he had four receptions for 61 yards in a loss. Coates also that season was third in the nation in yards per catch (21.5) and averaged 54.1 yards per touchdown catch. Those numbers scream to me, YAC monster or yards after the catch and he can blow the top off of a defense.

Now let’s dive into Coates’s scouting report starting off with his strengths:

• Straight line speed – When you watch Coates play, one thing that you will notice is his straight line speed as he ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. When he is running a go route, his speed goes from to 0-100 mph.  Speed is one thing you cannot teach and on Sundays, he will give defenses headaches.
• Strong – Another quality that NFL teams will like is how strong Coates is. Sammie Coates does not have a problem with getting physical at the line of scrimmage with the opposing team’s cornerback. If you remember the 2013 game versus Texas A&M, he literally tossed the Aggie defender like a rag doll, while trying to pick up more yards after the catch. In the NFL, he will go against physical corners that will try to jam him at the line, his strength will be tested.
• Good hands – Finally, the last strength that I love about Coates is his hands. He has good hands as he catches everything that the quarterback throws to him that is within his reach. With him having the strength and good hands, he reminds me of Demaryius Thomas and we have seen what he has done in the NFL. Thomas does damage on wide receiver/bubble screens and Coates has that same explosive ability.

With the strengths, come the weaknesses so here are things Coates needs work in:

• Route running – When I mention route running in regards to Coates, its more of we need to see him run different types of routes. For majority of his time at Auburn, their big plays would happen on deep routes from Coates. One thing, we have noticed in the NFL is that you cannot be a one trick pony at wide receiver because defenses will take you out of the game.
• Needs to be a better blocker – Finally, when it comes to this weakness, some wide receivers are better at blocking than others. Coates has to become a better blocker, there were many instances where he would not make an attempt to block or not give his full effort. As we see with Chip Kelly, he wants his wide receivers to be big and be able to block. Coates is a big body wideout coming in at 6-foot-1 and 212 lbs but can be taught to be a better blocker at the next level.

Here are his stats from this season: 34 receptions, 741 receiving yards, and four touchdowns

Here are his stats from his best season which was in 2013: 42 receptions, 902 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns

NFL Draft Projection: 2nd Round-4th Round