Veteran taking the lead on NY Giants WR4 role

After the first three spots, the NY Giants wide receiver depth chart is ripe for the taking. Corey Coleman has begun to separate himself from the pack.

When the Cleveland Browns drafted wideout Corey Coleman with the 15th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, big things were expected from the 2015 Biletnikoff Award winner (given to the nation’s best WR). However, as the speedy pass-catcher heads into his fifth season, he’s already playing for his fourth team in the NY Giants.

Best known for dropping a crucial fourth-down pass late in the 2017 winless Brown’s last game of the season, Coleman lasted just two years in Cleveland before the team jettisoned him to Buffalo for a measly seventh-round draft pick.

The former Baylor superstar isn’t the only talented player to wash out in Cleveland, but he would go on to make two stops in the AFC East where he also enjoyed no success before the NY Giants gave him another shot in 2018.

Despite not being much of a factor at wide receiver for Big Blue, Corey Coleman enjoyed a very nice season as a kick returner in 2018, accumulating 617 kick returns on a hefty 25.7 average.

That was enough for GM Dave Gettleman to keep him around for the 2019 despite the fact that he tore his ACL, and even further to bring him back for 2020 where he’s competing for one of the backend roster spots.

The NY Giants have brought in some tough competition for Coleman in the form of undrafted free agents, and while I think the unit could benefit from the size of a youngster like Binjimen Victor, Coleman’s talent is hard to deny.

Corey Coleman shines at NY Giants scrimmage

In this weird offseason, intrasquad scrimmages are as close as we’re going to get seeing NY Giants preseason football. If the latest and most important scrimmage was any indication, Corey Coleman is making Big Blue look wise for sticking by him.

Coleman stuck out amongst all of the offensive players as he led the team in receiving yards.

Via Bobby Skinner on Twitter:

Although he stands just 5’11” tall, Coleman is the cloest thing to a traditional veteran outside receiver that the NY Giants currently have on their roster. Having just turned 26-years-old, Coleman could just finally be breaking out of his NFL shell as he’s finally in a positive environment with a solid young quarterback.

As I pointed out with Wayne Gallman earlier, veterans – especially vets that have already been with the team – are going to have a big advantage over UDFA’s when it comes to making NFL rosters this offseason.

With no preseason games, its going to be very difficult for players like Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack, or Derrick DIllon – aka the UDFA Big 3 of WR’s – to make their mark for the NY Giants in 2020.

If Coleman has been practicing like he played in the scrimmage the other night, he should have no problem making the initial NY Giants roster.