Corey Coleman Selected No. 15 by Cleveland in NFL Draft
4/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Press Conference Video 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
CHICAGO - When Baylor All-American receiver Corey Coleman made a pre-draft visit to Cleveland, the Browns were holding the No. 2 overall pick and he figured it would be "impossible" to end up there.
"Something amazing would have to happen," he said, "and it's crazy, because something amazing did happen."
After trading away the No. 2 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Browns moved back again from eighth to No. 15, where they selected the 5-11, 194-pound Coleman as the first receiver off the board and first player picked from a Texas college in Thursday's first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
"When all the trades started happening, and I kept on seeing them move back, I was like, `Yeah, they're going to get a receiver,''' said Coleman, who becomes Baylor's sixth first-round pick in the Art Briles era and 20th overall. "But you really never know, and then I got the phone call and I told my mom. The look on her face was crazy."
Coleman, the first receiver drafted by the Browns in the first round since Braylon Edwards in 2005, joins former Baylor All-American quarterback Robert Griffin III in Cleveland. RG3 spent his first four seasons with the Washington Redskins before signing a free-agent contract with the Browns last month.
"I'm pumped for Corey being the first receiver taken. And then you add the thrill of joining Baylor's own RG3, we got us a dynamic duo working (in Cleveland)," said Briles, who was at Coleman's green room table at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University with offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
While the 21-year-old Coleman came to Baylor the year after Griffin finished, he remembers coming to Waco "and watching Robert play, him and Kendall (Wright). He's a great person and he's a great quarterback and I'm ready to play with him."
Within minutes of the Browns' selection, Griffin tweeted, "Welcome to the #Dawg Pound @TheCoreyColeman."
"He's a former Baylor Bear, he's a legend at Baylor, and I know what he can do," Coleman said. "I'm confident in him and I'm just ready to start working out with him."
Baylor's school record-holder in career (33), season (20) and single-game TD receptions (4), Coleman was a unanimous All-American and the program's first Biletnikoff Award winner in 2015. He finished with 173 career catches for 3,009 yards and 33 touchdowns and was the first player in school history to record two 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
As a fourth-year junior, he hauled in 74 catches for 1,363 yards (18.4-yard average) and 20 touchdowns. Like defensive tackle Andrew Billings and safety Xavien Howard, Coleman decided to forego his senior season and enter the Draft a year early.
Cleveland was in desperate need of help at receiver after releasing Dwayne Bowe and losing Travis Benjamin in free agency to the San Diego Chargers. Other than tight end Gary Barnidge, the top returning receivers are eighth-year vet Brian Hartline and third-year pro Taylor Gabriel out of Abilene Christian.
"You have no electricity outside the numbers, none," said ESPN analyst Louis Riddick. "You had no other choice but to add a speed component."
Stanford coach David Shaw, working as a draft analyst with the NFL Network, compared Coleman to veteran receiver Steve Smith and described him as "an explosive, physical, angry young man when he catches the ball."
First-year Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson said Coleman "has a lot of charisma, he has a lot of confidence, which you want in wide receivers."
"He's a guy that scores touchdowns. At the end of the day, that's our goal," Jackson said. "We always want to put the ball in the end zone, and he's done it as good as anybody in college football. He had 20 touchdowns last year and 74 catches for over 1,300 yards. He brings a dynamic skill set to our offensive football team, and that's what we're looking for."
A Dallas, Texas, native who played at Richardson Pearce High School, Coleman said he's excited about playing for the rabid Browns' fans in the Dawg Pound.
"It's going to be crazy," he said. "They've got a crazy fan base. I'm just looking forward to going in there, giving 100 percent and working hard and trying to make a name for myself on the field."
Saying he couldn't have made it without his development at Baylor, Coleman thanked Baylor Nation "for all your support through college, and I know y'all are going to keep your support through my NFL journey."
Fifteen hours away from graduating with a degree in health, kinesiology and leisure studies, Coleman said, "When I find time - I know my rookie year is going to be busy - but I'm going to go back and get (my degree)."
Among the other Baylor players, Billings and Howard are both expected to be second-day picks, with All-American offensive tackle Spencer Drango, receiver Jay Lee and basketball power forward Rico Gathers are possible selections in the fourth through seventh round on Saturday.
Rounds 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and will be broadcast by ESPN and the NFL Network.
