NY Giants: Is Corey Coleman worth bringing back?

Corey Coleman has been injured for most of his time with the NY Giants, but does his upside warrant bringing him back in 2020?

When the NY Giants brought Corey Coleman aboard in 2018 it seemed worth it, as the move required little investment and brought on a high-upside, young former first-round pick. Unfortunately, Coleman has struggled with injuries and missed all of 2019 with a torn ACL.

Still just 25-years-old, the former #15 overall pick and Biletnikoff Award winner (college’s best receiver) should have plenty of gas left in the tank – provided his recovery from the ACL went well – and represents an interesting potential re-signing.

For some reason, Coleman never panned out in Cleveland — where have we heard that before? Changing of coaching regimes seemed to hurt him the most – and a critical drop against the Steelers at the end of the Browns’ 0-16 season – but there’s no reason he still can’t turn into a productive player in this league. Big Blue felt strongly enough about him last off-season to slap a $2M roster tender on him, and he’ll likely be much cheaper than that this time around.

Although he stands at just 5’11, Coleman is a true deep threat and holds a much different skill set than the other smaller receivers on the roster such as Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard. The former Baylor Bear has displayed the ability to play special teams and a kick returner, awarding some extra value.

With Golden Tate, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard having their roster spot all but locked up heading in 2020, Coleman’s shot of sticking with Big Blue may come down to a contest between him and Cody Core. Core has been lauded for his special teams abilities but adds little – to nothing – in the way of a receiving threat.

Many have predicted that Joe Judge will attempt to bring over one of the two Patriot special teams aces over to the Big Apple with him and if that does happen, both Core and Coleman are likely out of a job.

Coleman may want to test the market and see if he can find a better situation, but if the young receiver is open to a low-end contract and wants to return it’s surely something that the NY Giants should explore.

At the very least, having a high-upside receiver with legit returning abilities (26YPR on 23 returns in 2018) is something worth entertaining.