Isaiah Coulter Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6’-2”
Weight: 198 pounds
School: Rhode Island
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 4.45 seconds
Vertical Jump: 36.0”
Broad Jump: 121.0”
3 Cone Drill: 7.28 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.62 seconds
Isaiah Coulter 2020 NFL Draft Profile
Small school prospects typically don’t receive too much pre-draft hype, but most small school prospects aren’t nearly as good as Isaiah Coulter. The Rhode Island product had a breakout season in 2019, recording 71 receptions on 124 targets for 1,032 yards and eight touchdowns on 767 snaps.
Coulter initially joined the collegiate ranks without much fanfare. The Maryland native wasn’t ranked in 2017 and ended up joining his cousin, Aaron Parker, at Rhode Island. A linebacker in high school, Coulter transitioned to wide receiver in college and took a while to learn the ropes. As a true freshman, Coulter recorded just one reception on three targets for 56 yards and one touchdown. One year later, Coulter recorded 11 receptions for 165 yards and one touchdown.
Strengths
- Above-average speed and height;
- Knows how to beat press coverage and get open quickly;
- Dangerous in the open field with speed to quickly pick up yards on shallow passes;
- Performed well against tough competition at Virginia Tech;
- Knows when the ball is coming and can catch a pass right out of a break – quarterback can throw pre-break knowing he’ll be ready for it;
- Shifty enough to make defenders miss in the open field.
Weaknesses
- Not the best route runner;
- Needs to work on improving lateral agility and cutting;
- Not the largest catch radius, struggles to adjust to off-target passes;
- Pedestrian in contested catch situations, success rate will probably decrease against NFL competition;
- Didn’t face elite competition on a consistent basis;
- Hands could be a worry – dropped six passes in 2019;
- Doesn’t attack the ball and could be outmuscled by defensive backs at the NFL level;
- Needs to add more muscle to deal with NFL physicality.
NFL Comparison: Allen Hurns
Teams With Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
Projection: 5th Round
Bottom Line on Isaiah Coulter
Isaiah Coulter is an intriguing small school wide receiver with legitimate NFL traits. It wasn’t just that he put up great stats as a junior (he did), but it was the way he did it. Blessed with fantastic speed, Coulter was able to blow past the competition, make plays in the open field, and make guys miss while picking up additional yardage after the catch. He has the NFL build and managed to produce against top programs like Virginia Tech.
However, there are some concerns with Coulter adjusting to NFL life. Even though he played well against elite competition, he didn’t face it on a regular basis. This is somewhat concerning, simply because the sample size is so small. In terms of visible flaws, Coulter isn’t the best route runner and relied mostly on speed and post-catch shiftiness for most of his yards. He’ll need to tone up his route running and also add on some muscle to deal with the added NFL size. Most years, he’d probably be a late-third or early-fourth round pick. However, with all the depth at the position, he’ll probably go off the board in the fifth round.
Main photo:
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