Draft Possibilities: Shon Coleman
By Andre Menice
NAME: Shon Coleman
SCHOOL: Auburn
POS: OT
HT: 6’5″
WT: 307 lbs
A litany of injuries to numerous positions on offense struck New England this past season and eventually, were too much to overcome as New England fell to Denver in the AFC Championship game. I am of the belief that the offensive line was never as good as it appeared to be and benefited from Brady getting the ball out of his hand and in return, the line did not have to hold their blocks for more than three seconds. Against Denver, injuries to Amendola and Edleman limited their ability to get open as quick as they normally did and Denver’s front seven made quick work of New England’s offensive line and even though it has almost become somewhat cliché to say “if you want Brady into his 40’s, you have to protect him” but nevertheless, it hasn’t become any less true.
With Sebastian Vollmer getting up there in age and the lack of depth at the position in general, New England should look to upgrade the position in the draft. Enter Shon Coleman, offensive tackle out of Auburn. Auburn’s offense relies heavily on rushing the ball off tackle and when they do pass, a good percentage of them are screens behind the line of scrimmage. Coleman has great arm length with strong hands that latch onto the inside of the defender.
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From there, his power takes over as he drives the defender backwards and out of his cleats. On passing downs, he picks up stunts and defends the spin very well and doesn’t get pushed around or thrown off balance too often with rip and swim moves. He also has the footwork to slide with and stay with speed rushers trying to get around the edge.
Against Georgia this past college football season, Coleman, was a man amongst boys. When tasked with blocking 3-4 outside linebackers Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd, Coleman held his own with relative ease, he stonewalled both linebackers throughout the game, standing them both up when run blocking and sliding with them step-for-step, sealing off the edge while pass blocking. Against Texas A&M and Ole Miss, he displayed much of the same as he did in the Georgia game. He didn’t block DT Robert Nkemdiche often in the Ole Miss, he might of lined up across from him two or three times, but when he did, he was able to effectively neutralize Nkemdiche.
In the Iron Bowl against Alabama, Coleman played better than Auburn’s offense as a whole, who struggled for the most part. Coleman’s play wasn’t as dominant as it was in the games against Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Georgia, but it was exceptionally well considering Alabama has four players in that defensive front seven that will be drafted, three of those four will probably go on the first night. The more athletic tackle was asked numerous times to get up to the second level and block Reggie Ragland on Auburn’s screens and running plays, and he did so with success.
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When he was blocking linemen though, he occasionally got caught off balance. One play, Coleman was leaning too hard into a block on defensive end
and Pettway stepped back and ripped Coleman forward causing the tackle to stumble and, in return, allowed Pettway a clear lane to the quarterback. On another play, Coleman got overpowered by defensive tackle
with a bull rush and ended up on his back, two yards behind the line of scrimmage. The last thing that was noted was that Coleman started off a couple blocks on running plays with his head down, looking at the ground rather than the defense which allowed defenders to side-step and go around him or even worst, possibly giving the Crimson Tide
on what Auburn was going to be doing. Other than these handful of plays, he was relatively successful against the front seven of Alabama.
Offensive tackle isn’t a sexy pick for New England, but for a team without many needs, the most important need on the second day of the draft for the Patriots might be to keep Brady upright in the pocket and Coleman could be an absolute steal for New England at the bottom of the second round. He is a player with tremendous upside and is being overlooked in the draft. He has few short comings and on those short comings he does have, they are technical flaws that can be corrected with the right coaching. The bottom line is Coleman is a fighter, as proven by his successful battle with Leukemia and Patriot fans should be happy if his name is called on day two of the draft.
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Scouting Videos Courtesy of Draft Breakdown