Dynasty League Rookie Prospect: Auburn WR Sammie Coates

Jan 24, 2015; Mobile, AL, USA; South squad wide receiver Sammie Coates of Auburn (18) looks to the sidelines against the North squad in the second quarter of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports

A very intriguing prospect this year is wide receiver Sammie Coates from the University of Auburn. Sammie Coates flashed his talent during the Senior Bowl, and has been debated upon on Twitter amongst draft analyzers ever since. Coates has the prototypical size that you would want in a receiver, standing at 6’1 ¾ and 213 pounds. For his size, Coates possesses the high end speed that would make him a deep threat in the NFL. The combination of his size and speed is what makes him a juicy prospect going into the NFL Draft. Another quality that Coates has is that he’s able to make contested highlight reel catches down field, which shows that he has the ability to be effective going after the deep ball while it’s in the air.

The negatives to Coates’ game is that he is a limited route runner, and he has issues dropping passes. The drops appear to be more of a concentration issue because he has the ability to make difficult catches, which means he has the ability to be an effective pass catcher. This means with good coaching and some hard work, Coates could clear this issue up. The route running, on the other hand, might take a few years for him to master. With his finest attributes being a great deep ball specialist, Coates draws comparisons to Martavis Bryant and Torrey Smith.

Let’s take a look at Sammie Coates’ stats that he produced at Auburn:

One thing to earmark about Coates is that his college production is limited. Limited college production is a red flag because it shows that he didn’t dominate at the collegiate level. One thing to note about Coates is that he was suffering a nagging hamstring injury all this year, which caused him to not be as effective as he should be. He didn’t have a bad sophomore season with 902 yards and 7 TDs, but it wasn’t dominant. Coates’s college production is a little worrisome to me because there is a high bust rate of wide receivers who have limited college production. Of course, this doesn’t mean he will be a bust, but it’s something to keep in mind when it comes time for your rookie draft.

I like Coates as a prospect because of his size and speed, and I believe there will be a role for him in the NFL. Coates is a player that you will have to be patient with because he’s not going to produce fantasy relevant statistics his rookie year unless he goes to a juicy situation where he gets a lot of targets. Coates will be a prospect that you will have to be patient with, and it may take a couple years for him to develop. Keep that in mind, because if you’re impatient, he may not be the right player for you.

I think Coates is going to have a big increase in value from the combine. I think he’s going to run an impressive 40-time, and along with his size, it’s going to make his stock go up. I can see him netting a hefty profit if he were to have a few good games next season, so that might be another good reason to draft him. Coates will be drafted from the late-1st to the mid-2nd round of rookie drafts. I like him as a prospect, but the price of a late first round pick is a little bit too steep for me to pay for him. I feel with how deep this running back class is, going with one of the talented running backs could be better for your dynasty team than reaching for Coates.

Next: Five Offseason Situations To Watch

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @bmatz08 for fantasy football advice.

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