Corey Coleman: Vikings take close look at Baylor WR

Corey Coleman worked out at Baylor Pro Day on Wednesday and the Minnesota Vikings took a close look.

The Vikings may wish to draft a receiver this year in hopes of adding a more dynamic dimension to an offense that in 2015 was a bit underwhelming. The process of scouting potential receiver targets continued today for Minnesota GM Rick Spielman at Baylor Pro Day, where potential first round pick Corey Coleman was put through his paces.

Spielman and receivers coach George Stewart were both on-hand as Coleman burned up the track, posting an unofficial time of 4.37 in the 40.

George Stewart then reportedly put Coleman and other receivers through some drills.

Rick Spielman then had a little one-on-one time with the fleet-footed Mr. Coleman.

This has nothing to do with Corey Coleman, but Stewart and Spielman also got a look at 400-pound LaQuan McGowan and his pass-catching skills. McGowan memorably played some tight end for Baylor last year.

Back to Coleman. It’s not exactly a revelation for Coleman to flash great speed; everyone already knew he has great speed. Everyone also knows about his leaping ability and skill at making things happen after the catch.

Why then is Coleman not viewed as a lock-down first-round pick? The big reason is that he drops a lot of balls, not because he has bad hands per se but because he gets gun shy going over the middle. Coleman also ran a limited route tree at Baylor, which uses a spread offense. However, Pro Football Focus recently did a piece on Coleman where they explained why that whole “limited route tree” thing might not matter in this particular case (via PFF):

"Coleman comes out of an offense that makes so much of his NFL potential a pure projection, and yet strangely, I have almost no concerns about his route-running ability. Though he didn’t run many routes in college, he ran the ones he did with sophistication and understanding of how to set up defensive backs and get open. I think the chances of those traits being limited strictly to the four routes that Baylor runs is very small."

There are also concerns about Coleman’s size, but at 5-11, 190 he should be big enough. If the Vikings are looking for a player to come in and provide deep speed and potential big-play ability, Coleman might be a good fit.

We could have an entire other discussion about what type of receiver makes the most sense for Minnesota. Is speed really a valuable commodity in an offense that so far has failed to muster anything resembling a vertical passing game?

Next: Five possible draft targets at receiver

Earlier today, we took a look at five other receivers the Vikings might target in the draft. Four of the five are seen as non-burners who have good ball-skills and other attributes that might be attractive to Minnesota as they attempt to build an offense around Teddy Bridgewater.

Hard to say what the Vikings will do, but it’s clear they wanted to at least take a good up-close look at Corey Coleman.