Finding Corey: The Dynasty Fantasy Football Impact of the Corey Coleman Trade
The Cleveland Browns had an embarrassment of riches in terms of first round draft picks from 2012 through 2016. Unfortunately, their selections have been disastrous. When you go down the line, you see the likes of Trent Richardson (traded), Brandon Weeden (cut), Barkevious Mingo (traded), Justin Gilbert (traded), Johnny Manziel (cut), Danny Shelton (traded) and Corey Coleman, who was traded to Buffalo today in exchange for a late round draft choice. As you can see, Coleman is simply the latest player to have failed to meet lofty expectations and fail to live up to his draft pedigree in Cleveland. The trade has long reaching dynasty ramifications, so let’s look at this from a dynasty perspective, player-by-player.
Corey Coleman, WR BUF
Since being the 15th player selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, Coleman has posted just 56 career catches for 718 yards and five touchdowns in two injury-filled seasons. In total, Coleman has battled a pair of broken hands and numerous soft tissue injuries to appear in just 19 games for the Browns. Making matters worse for Cleveland, Coleman was the player they selected after trading back from the second overall selection, which was then used by Philadelphia on Carson Wentz. As you can see below, Coleman’s ADP has been in a steady free fall for some time now as he’s failed to live up to the hype surrounding him when he came out of Baylor as a physical freak.
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A fresh start is exactly what Coleman needed. Remembered by Browns fans for a critical drop that guaranteed an 0-16 season more than for his raw ability, Coleman will now join a depth chart that features the likes of Kelvin Benjamin, Jeremy Kerley and Zay Jones, among others.  The move has to be considered a positive one for Coleman as he won’t have to battle Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon and potentially Antonio Callaway for targets. The key for Coleman retaining dynasty value will be his health. He’s currently battling a hamstring injury and while it doesn’t seem serious, it was enough for the Browns to finally move on. Coleman’s dynasty ADP will certainly climb up but I wouldn’t be jumping on the bandwagon too quickly – the Bills are attempting to buy low here and didn’t invest a ton for Coleman’s services.
Josh Gordon, WR CLE
Gordon is currently undergoing some proactive counseling to protect himself against a relapse of the problems that have plagued him throughout his career. Trading away Coleman could certainly be an indication the Browns believe Gordon is close to returning.
Antonio Callaway, WR CLE
By all measures, Callaway has looked “as advertised” for the Browns. While it’s extraordinarily dangerous for Cleveland to put this much faith in two receivers who have shown a keen knack for finding trouble, there’s no doubting the talent of Gordon or Callaway. With Coleman now out of the way, expect the rookie ADP of Callaway (currently at #24) to rise a smidge. There’s still massive risk with him, but his short-term outlook just got a little bit brighter. Callaway remains the ultimate risk / reward rookie draft pick this season.
Jarvis Landry, WR CLE
The trading of Coleman really shouldn’t have any impact on Landry. He was going to be a target hog regardless of what happened with Coleman.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR BUF
The addition of Coleman could see Benjamin’s value take a minor hit as a result since he really represented the only bona fide option in the Buffalo receiving corps. As such, the number of targets he gets could go down. Still, Coleman has never shown the ability to stay healthy or consistency productive, despite his salivating athletic ability.
Zay Jones, WR BUF
Speaking of disappointments, Jones was an utter disaster last year and after inconsistencies, bizarre off-the-field behavior and off-season knee surgery, it’s clear he’s on thin ice with the Bills. The addition of Coleman puts Jones and his dynasty owners on notice.
Dez Bryant, WR FA
It’s possible the Browns could be interested in Bryant now that Coleman has been sent packing. While this is far from a sure thing and there’s lots of dot connecting out there in social media, the Bryant to Cleveland rumor is going to likely pick up steam here in the next few days.
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Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
