With rookies and free agents debuting in offseason workouts for their new teams, OTAs lent a few developments worth considering as we head into the summer. Here are a few random thoughts on initial reports.
• I still love his talent and think he has athletic ability similar to that of Odell Beckham, but Corey Coleman's latest hamstring issue is a worry for me. Coleman's skill set is dependent on top-shelf explosiveness, but he's shown a tendency since his Baylor days to accumulate soft tissue injuries that leave him unable to perform.
He missed the first three games of the 2014 season with a hamstring injury suffered at an unspecified point in the preseason, and he ended his Baylor career playing through a sports hernia. His rookie season was primarily undone by the broken hand he suffered in September, but he also missed time in the preseason with a hamstring issue.
Coleman bounced back in each previous case of hamstring trouble, but you'd rather not see a player with so much to otherwise prove facing down an additional hurdle of any sort, especially one you probably haven't seen the last of. I think it would be smart to put out feelers in dynasty leagues in case you can get him cheaper than you previously thought, but for redraft he's merely a WR4 for me right now, and not even one I'm excited about.
• One competition I'm watching closely is the one for the WR3 role in Detroit.
With rookies and free agents debuting in offseason workouts for their new teams, OTAs lent a few developments worth considering as we head into the summer. Here are a few random thoughts on initial reports.
• I still love his talent and think he has athletic ability similar to that of Odell Beckham, but Corey Coleman's latest hamstring issue is a worry for me. Coleman's skill set is dependent on top-shelf explosiveness, but he's shown a tendency since his Baylor days to accumulate soft tissue injuries that leave him unable to perform.
He missed the first three games of the 2014 season with a hamstring injury suffered at an unspecified point in the preseason, and he ended his Baylor career playing through a sports hernia. His rookie season was primarily undone by the broken hand he suffered in September, but he also missed time in the preseason with a hamstring issue.
Coleman bounced back in each previous case of hamstring trouble, but you'd rather not see a player with so much to otherwise prove facing down an additional hurdle of any sort, especially one you probably haven't seen the last of. I think it would be smart to put out feelers in dynasty leagues in case you can get him cheaper than you previously thought, but for redraft he's merely a WR4 for me right now, and not even one I'm excited about.
• One competition I'm watching closely is the one for the WR3 role in Detroit. One candidate is unsurprisingly Kenny Golladay, a 6-foot-4, 220ish-pound rookie the Lions selected out of Northern Illinois in the third round, and the other is the rather unexpected Jared Abbrederis, who's always been liked for his route-running ability but faces questions about his size and durability.
Golladay is definitely the better prospect, but Abbrederis could have an early advantage due to two additional years of NFL experience. That the WR3 race is down to these two makes me think that the Lions will use Golden Tate and Marvin Jones in the slot more often this year, as both Golladay and Abbrederis are best fit playing outside.
Abbrederis is widely regarded as a slot receiver, but this is a misapplication of conventional wisdom – slight receivers who lack burning speed often get moved inside, but Abbrederis' route running and general instincts are best near the sideline, where his killer double-move has room for separation. Abbrederis' hands get worse over the middle of the field, meanwhile, and he lacks the body density to withstand the contact traffic brings.
• I wish I were optimistic enough to care about Christine Michael signing with Indianapolis, but I'm not able to. If Frank Gore's days as starter expire before the end of this season, I don't think Michael is a threat to Marlon Mack or Robert Turbin.
• The March ankle surgery that was supposed to resolve itself before training camp looks like it could unexpectedly cost Latavius Murray some camp reps with the Vikings. It presumably wouldn't be a long stretch, but if Dalvin Cook has the spotlight to himself for any amount of time, I think it's ground Murray isn't good enough to get back. I'd even worry about Jerick McKinnon claiming more snaps than expected.
• Sticking with the running backs genre, Matt Jones holding out for trade or release might be the most ill-advised holdout I've ever seen. He should be relieved if he can hold on to so much as a healthy scratch role in Washington. Jones was always a fringe NFL talent despite Washington's surprise decision to select him in the third round two years ago, and all he's done since then is fail despite undue favoritism from his coaches. He's a generic big back with profound fumbling issues and a history of durability problems. I don't know that he would even make half of the teams in this league.
• Sticking specifically with the subject of Washington runners, good for Rob Kelley showing up to camp at a leaner build than last year. I still think there's basically no chance of him holding off Samaje Perine, but Kelley has already vastly exceeded my expectations multiple times. He's clearly not the joke I thought he was.
• I've always believed in Kelvin Benjamin's talent and, despite a couple red flags, was generally an advocate of his when he arrived to the NFL out of Florida State. But the reports and images of him at Carolina OTAs have me hesitant to invest for fear of regression. In addition to coach Ron Rivera mentioning that Benjamin was too heavy at the offseason's start, clips of Benjamin running routes show a player clearly lacking NFL speed.
One of the previously mentioned red flags for Benjamin's prospect profile was his inability to stand out early on at Florida State despite advanced age. He was roughly 20.5 years old as a true freshman, yet Florida State redshirted him. Then as a 21.5-year-old redshirt freshman in 2012, he was the fourth-string wideout behind non-entities like Rashad Greene (who was 20 at the time), Kenny Shaw, and Rodney Smith.
If you buy the premise that Benjamin was the most talented of the group, which I certainly do, then I think you're left with two possible explanations. One is that his skill set bloomed late for no particular reason, and the other is that he was immature and not working hard enough. Given the previously referenced weight issues and video clip, as well as the fact that Greene, Shaw, and Smith were not particularly skilled themselves at the time, I think it's safe to say that immaturity and work ethic were what held Benjamin back in his Florida State career.
For this issue to persist as a 26-year-old professional, even in the offseason, is a major concern. He's still talented and could get into shape by the fall, but Benjamin needed to improve as he headed into his prime, not tread water. The player he's been in his first three years wasn't good enough – his inadequacies were rationalized as short-term and a necessary part of development that would yield a much better player in the near future.
Instead, it looks like Benjamin's rookie year could very well go down as his best. I'm concerned about all of Christian McCaffrey, Devin Funchess, and Curtis Samuel eating into his target share. I can't even rule out long shots like Charles Johnson and Fred Ross from doing as much. For now, Benjamin is a WR3 for me in 12-team leagues.
