The Cleveland Browns selected Corey Coleman with the 15th overall pick last year, making him the first wide receiver drafted. He flashed with a 100-yard, 2-TD game in Week 2, but got hurt and ended up with disappointing rookie numbers. His second preseason isn't off to a great start, either.
Coleman suffered shoulder and hamstring injuries at OTAs, and receivers coach Al Saunders says Coleman has fallen behind in his development. "I'm disappointed for him that he can't continue to grow in the fundamentals and skills at his position,'' Saunders said. "He missed a significant amount of time last training camp [with a hamstring injury]. ... He was having a terrific OTA session and then he got hurt."
Saunders indicates that Coleman should be back for training camp; the overall tone of his quotes seems positive. (Note that he's disappointed for Coleman, rather than in him.) But it's something that will work against Coleman having a breakout season in Year 2.
Being the first wideout selected is no guarantee of success, but over the last 20 years, about half of those players have fared pretty well in their second seasons. Six 1,000-yard performers, and three more over 850. All nine of those wideouts scored at least 5 TDs.
On the other hand, of the 11 that didn't reach those totals in Year 2, most of them flamed out fairly quickly. Looking at the list, only Demaryius Thomas really went on to become a star. Donte Stallworth and Ike Hilliard had solid careers. The rest not so much.
Too early in the offseason to get concerned about Coleman, but would be nice to see him healthy and practicing fully by training camp.
| 1ST WIDEOUT DRAFTED, YEAR 2 (1996-2016) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pk | Player | No | Yds | TD |
| 2016 | 15 | Corey Coleman, Clev. | ? | ? | ? |
| 1999 | 6 | Torry Holt, St.L. | 82 | 1635 | 6 |
| 2004 | 3 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 103 | 1409 | 10 |
| 2011 | 4 | A.J. Green, Cin. | 97 | 1350 | 11 |
| 2007 | 2 | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 78 | 1331 | 12 |
| 2015 | 4 | Amari Cooper, Oak. | 83 | 1153 | 5 |
| 2014 | 4 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 60 | 1047 | 9 |
| 1996 | 1 | Keyshawn Johnson, NYJ | 70 | 963 | 5 |
| 2006 | 25 | Santonio Holmes, Pitt. | 52 | 942 | 8 |
| 2005 | 3 | Braylon Edwards, Clev. | 61 | 884 | 6 |
| 1997 | 7 | Ike Hilliard, NYG | 51 | 715 | 2 |
| 2000 | 4 | Peter Warrick, Cin. | 70 | 667 | 1 |
| 1998 | 16 | Kevin Dyson, Hou. | 54 | 658 | 4 |
| 2008 | 33 | Donnie Avery, St.L. | 47 | 589 | 5 |
| 2010 | 22 | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 32 | 551 | 4 |
| 2002 | 13 | Donte Stallworth, N.O. | 25 | 485 | 3 |
| 2012 | 5 | Justin Blackmon, Jac. | 29 | 415 | 1 |
| 2009 | 7 | Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oak. | 26 | 366 | 1 |
| 2013 | 8 | Tavon Austin, St.L. | 31 | 242 | 3 |
| 2001 | 8 | David Terrell, Chi. | 9 | 127 | 3 |
| 2003 | 2 | Charles Rogers, Det. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson