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Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Sammie Coates

By Leigh Oleszczak

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The Kansas City Chiefs were the only team in the National Football League in 2014 to not have a wide receiver touchdown. The Chiefs showed they were determined to change that statistic when they acquired Jeremy Maclin in free agency, but will Kansas City decide the need is still important enough that they use the 18th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft on a receiver? The Chiefs might decide to draft a receiver in round two, and if they do, Sammie Coates is a possible candidate.

Sammie Coates played college football at Auburn for three years. During his time as a Tiger, Coates had 82 receptions for 1,757 yards and 13 touchdowns. His best season came during the 2013 season (his sophomore year) when he caught 42 passes for 902 yards and seven touchdowns.

Combine Results

More from Chiefs Draft Analysis

  • 40-yard dash – 4.43 seconds
  • Bench press – 23 reps*
  • Vertical jump – 41.0 inch*
  • Broad jump – 131.0 inch*
  • 3-cone drill – 6.98 seconds
  • 20-yard shuttle – 4.06 seconds*
  • 60-yard shuttle – 11.81 seconds

* = Combine top performer

Results courtesy of NFL.com

There’s no doubt that Sammie Coates could be a great wide receiver in the pros. He’s big, fast, and has the advantage when it comes to jumping over cornerbacks. His size alone is what gives him an edge on the field.

Coates is probably not the type of guy the Kansas City Chiefs should rely on to take their offense to the next level.

The bad part about Coates is that he isn’t the most reliable receiver. It would be hard for me to justify the Chiefs drafting this kid because of the quarterback situation in Kansas City. Don’t get me wrong, I like Alex Smith, but Smith is the type of guy you have to build around. Coates just isn’t the type of receiver that Smith would feel comfortable throwing to.

Coates also had problems with drops during his junior year at Auburn, and Chiefs fans are all too familiar with that considering Dwayne Bowe‘s history with dropping the football. Coates is probably not the type of guy the Kansas City Chiefs should rely on to take their offense to the next level.

"Won’t be on quarterback’s Christmas card list. Wasn’t always on same page with Auburn QB Nick Marshall. Unreliable target. Inexplicable focus drops in all areas of the field. Doesn’t play with extended catch radius. Had a drop rate of 19.1 percent.– Lance Zierlein of NFL.com on Coates’ weaknesses"

When researching possible landing spots for the former Auburn wideout, a lot of the articles have Sammie Coates being drafted by the New England Patriots. This makes sense because the Patriots have an elite quarterback in Tom Brady. Brady makes his offense better. Hell, he won a Super Bowl this past year with his starting wide receivers being Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman,  and Danny Amendola.

One such article, written by Nicholas Ian Allen of Fly War Eagle, states that Coates would indeed be a nice fit in New England with the likes of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

In other words, I’d pass on Coates if I were John Dorsey and the Chiefs. The drops worry me and so does the fact that he more than likely wouldn’t click with starting quarterback Alex Smith.

Don’t worry though Chiefs Kingdom. There are plenty of other wide receivers available in this year’s draft. The Kansas City Chiefs will get their paws on one, just you wait.

Next: KC Chiefs Wide Receiver Scouting Report

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