Strengths: As a redshirt freshman Coleman asked for all the film he could get on Peyton Manning and studied the throwing motion, footwork, drops, and play-action game and it shows. Coleman has the best play fakes of the quarterbacks in this class. Coleman played in a pro-style offense, has a pro caliber arm, and leads his receivers with good accurate in the short, intermediate, and deep game. He also does a good job of manipulating a defense with his eyes, play fakes, and pump fakes. He places the ball in good spots for receivers to either avoid contact from a defender or to make sure no defender has a chance to make a play on a throw that might other wise be risky. He shows an internal clock in the pocket and will leave the pocket in situations where he has made his reads and feels he needs to anticipate the rush. He'll also check down when he feels pressure coming fast and shows knowledge of his check-down options.
Weaknesses: His deep accuracy is very good for a college quarterback, but it needs to improve for the NFL. The range limit of his accuracy seems to fall between 45-50 yards. He needs to improve his touch on these throws as well as the quality of spin on some of his throws. Coleman has an aggressive mentality that is good for a potential NFL quarterback, but he can be too aggressive - especially in scenarios when it might seem like the right decision outside of the context of down and distance but not within the context of field position, time left on the clock, and the momentum of the opposing team. These are conceptual issues that are important to leading a team in the NFL. In this area of quarterback, Coleman has a room for improvement.
2012 Outlook: Green Bay in 2012? You're kidding, right? If he has to play, he might have some good yardage weeks but anticipate the Packers bringing in a free agent if they had to rely on Coleman or Graham Harrell for any length of time.
Dynasty Outlook: Coleman is a great pick as a future backup, but he has all the physical tools to develop into a future starter. He has the right combo of accuracy, poise, aggression, and base decision-making to become a team leader. If he develops his conceptual approach to the game, he could be one of the steals of this draft. It's always a big if when talking about transitioning to the NFL, but Coleman is worth the investment - especially if the Green Bay front office picked him as a future backup worth development.
NFL Comparison: Peyton Manning is the player Coleman has worked hard to emulate from the standpoint of the fundamentals of quarterbacking. Coleman's upside is good enough that he can become a starter with Manning-like characteristics, but not Manning's productivity and decision-making.
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