Brandon Coleman Declares for NFL Draft

Rutgers red shirt junior wide receiver Brandon Coleman has declared for the NFL Draft. He announced his intentions before the bowl game, and he is projected to be drafted some time between the second and fourth round. Coleman came into the season as a possible first round pick, but his stock took a hit as he never looked fully healthy coming off offseason knee surgery. Despite the down season, he still should be drafted high enough where you have no problem with him leaving early.

Coleman came to Rutgers as a four star recruit out of Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland, and he leaves tied for the school record in touchdown receptions with 20. Coleman earned second team all Big East honors as a sophomore in 2012 and he ends his Scarlet Knight career with 94 receptions and 1808 yards, in addition to the 20 touchdowns.

Unfortunately for Coleman, eighteen other receivers are entering the 2014 draft early, making this year's group of wide outs incredibly deep. This may cause him to drop further in the draft than he should, though a big performance at the combine (which I think he is very capable of) could separate him from guys like Jared Abbrederis, Davonte Adams and Bruce Ellington, putting him firmly in the second round mix. I have a feeling some team will fall in love with his size and speed combination and draft him that early. Can't teach that stuff.

Coleman is a big loss, but Rutgers has been well stocked at wide receiver for quite some time, and that will still be the case after his departure. Leonte Carroo took over as the team's go to receiver last year, and young guys like Andre Patton, Ruhan Peele, John Tsmis and Carlton Agudosi appear ready to step up into a bigger role. I wish Coleman would have stayed another year and hoped for better health and better quarterback play to boost his stock into the first round range, but I will never fault a guy who is projected to go in the top 3 rounds for leaving early. Best of luck to him.