Fantasy Upside
If the Bills took the time to trade for Corey Coleman, they must see something in him. He is a former first-round draft pick who is entering his third season. Many receivers finally figure it out in their third year and Coleman could be one of those guys. He will probably be the starter opposite Kelvin Benjamin and that means potential targets and receptions. Coleman escaped Cleveland which is always a positive.
Fantasy Downside
Coleman only played 19-of-36 games for Cleveland and his production was poor—56 receptions in two seasons isn't much for a featured receiver. He might be better off in Buffalo but the QB situation for the Bills is far from settled.
2018 Bottom Line
A change of scenery might help Coleman but he is probably someone to monitor on the waiver wire. Even as a Bill, he isn't getting drafted. We have him ranked as our No. 107 receiver. Stay away.
Week 16 at Chicago Bears
Corey Coleman's value has dropped since the arrival of Josh Gordon. He had a good game against the Packers, but had no targets in the first game vs. the Chargers and caught just 1 pass for 16 yards last week against the Ravens. Coleman is a talented player, but he's in a bad place in Cleveland, and isn't really worth much in fantasy.
Week 15 vs. Baltimore Ravens
After a big goose egg in Week 13, Corey Coleman bounced back with a strong Week 14. He had 62 yards and a touchdown on 5 catches, proving he and Josh Gordon can co-exist in this offense.
Things could get difficult this week, however, in a tough matchup against the Ravens. This defense is different without Jimmy Smith, though, so Coleman could find some success. He's not a great option, but he can be viewed as a WR4.
Week 14 vs. Green Bay Packers
Corey Coleman was definitely the odd man out with Josh Gordon's return as he finished with 0 receptions—not even a target. He was on the field, playing 81% of the Browns' offensive snaps, but Gordon's return and a poor matchup made for a difficult day.
Things should get easier this week against the Packers. Green Bay has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wideouts, so maybe there's enough love to go around in Week 14. He's still nothing to get too excited about, however, and is at best a WR4.
Week 13 at Los Angeles Chargers
Corey Coleman led the Browns in receiving again (64 yards) as he's been very valuable since returning from injury. Josh Gordon will start opposite of him this week, so we'll get to see how that plays out for these two talented wideouts moving forward.
Unfortunately, it's a bad week to see just how effective they can be as it's a difficult matchup against the Chargers. This matchup isn't a death sentence, but it definitely makes playing a guy like Coleman a little more difficult. Still, he should be viewed as a WR3 or WR4 option.
Week 12 at Cincinnati Bengals
Corey Coleman made a strong return last week, catching 6 passes for 80 yards on 11 targets, all team-highs. And he did that against the league's toughest pass defense. Unfortunately, he gets another tough matchup this week against the Bengals, a matchup he missed earlier this season.
Coleman offers some hope in the despair of Cleveland's receiving corps, but he's not much more than a low-end WR3 or high-end WR4 this week. He's a better option than any other Cleveland WR, but he's hard to trust in a tough matchup.
Week 11 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Corey Coleman is expected to return from injury this week, but don't expect a huge hoorah. He's a talented receiver, but rookie QB DeShone Kizer has only thrown 4 touchdowns all season. And Coleman faces a Jaguars defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown to a receiver since Week 1.
Coleman is a good waiver wire pickup as he could end up being a decent fantasy option in the future. But this week, we'd advise you to stay away from all Browns receivers.
Week 2 at Baltimore Ravens
Corey Coleman had a productive first week, finishing with five receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown on 6 targets. According to Pro Football Focus, DeShone Kizer had a 150.4 passer rating when targeting Coleman, which was the second-highest of any QB-to-WR combo last week.
Coleman could have a hard time reproducing those stats in Week 2, though, as he has a difficult matchup against the Ravens. The Ravens held Bengals receivers in check last week, and it wouldn't be a shock to see it happen again. If you have Coleman, you should view him as a WR4 at best this week.
Week 1 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Corey Coleman got off to a strong start last season before an injury forced him to miss six games. Once he returned, he was unable to get going again, as he had fewer than 45 yards in all of his eight games back.
To start 2017, Coleman gets a difficult matchup against the Steelers. We expect the Browns to want to run the ball rather than pass it, which will leave only a few opportunities for Coleman. He's already a shaky prospect in fantasy, and given the matchup, he's not a great play.
Coleman should be viewed as a WR4 in both standard and PPR formats.
Fantasy Upside
Corey Coleman has a lot of talent, which is why the Browns spent a first-round pick on him a year ago. He’s a quick receiver, who made a lot of big plays at Baylor, en route to 20 touchdowns in his final collegiate year. He displayed some of that athleticism his rookie season, especially early, with a 100-yard, 2-touchdown game in Week 2. He’ll contend with Kenny Britt this season to be one of the top two options in the Browns offense.
Fantasy Downside
Coleman didn’t show a lot in his rookie season, but that was mostly due to the fact he missed several games with an injury. Although he came back, he clearly wasn’t right as he didn’t play well in his final eight games. Coleman went past 40 yards just once in the last eight games and scored only one time. His big plays were mostly eliminated as he averaged under 10 yards a catch (8.8) during those final eight games.
2017 Bottom Line
Coleman struggled in 2016, but that could be due to a lot of factors. It was his first year, he played with a revolving door of quarterbacks, he dealt with a broken hand, and the list goes on. The quarterback situation still isn’t great, but Coleman should be more productive in his second season. We have to wait to find out just how much he’ll improve, but he’s not a bad late-round selection in deeper leagues.
