Sammie Coates Scouting Report
Nov 1, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Auburn Tigers wide receiver Sammie Coates (18) celebrates scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Bottom Line
Coates has the same “wow factor” the scouts said Sammy Watkins had coming out back in 2014. This Senior Bowl Week, he has shaken corners trying to cover him and in short to intermediate routes, showing he’s more than a deep threat. But Watkins was known to have great hands and Coates has yet to prove that.
At this point, he seems to have worked his way into the bottom of the first round with a good Senior Bowl Week. The ability to work on perceived weaknesses then come in and show that they aren’t there is a high mark in itself. That will make personnel people in the NFL trust that the prospect will tap into all the upside he has.
Now, all Coates has to do is consistently catch the ball in the Senior Bowl and in drills all the way to May. Then the scouting world will be talking about how early in the first round Coates can go. Showing what a physical specimen he is at the Senior Bowl weigh-in seems to have helped him too.
CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler said of Coates, “Listed at 6’2″ 201 pounds at Auburn, he measured 6’1″ (3/8”) and 213 pounds on the Senior Bowl stage, showing off his cut, muscular physique. Coates was 12 pounds heavier than his listed weight at Auburn, but it appeared to be all muscle on his lean, defined frame.
But either way, with some work, he’ll be fine as a pro.