Florida State star Keon Coleman is declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft and will skip the No. 5 Seminoles' upcoming Orange Bowl showdown against No. 6 Georgia in preparation, according to 247Sports. Coleman spent one season with FSU after transferring in from Michigan State and ended up leading the ACC with 11 touchdown catches.
He quickly emerged as a favorite target for quarterback Jordan Travis, bursting onto the scene in a season-opening blowout win against LSU with a game-high nine catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns. That was his first of three multi-touchdown games all season and one of two contests in which he had at least 120 yards receiving. Coleman finished his lone season with the Noles with 50 catches for 658 yards. He also starred as Florida State's punt returner, gathering 300 yards off of 25 kicks.
The 6-foot-4 Coleman's immediate success wasn't surprising. 247Sports ranked him as a top-20 overall transfer and the No. 4 wide receiver during the 2023 cycle. A former four-star prospect out of Opelousas, Louisiana, Coleman had 65 catches for 848 yards and eight touchdowns -- an overwhelming majority of which came as a sophomore -- in his two seasons with the Spartans.
Coleman's draft stock
Coleman is one of the top prospects in April's draft, regardless of position. The 2024 CBS Sports NFL Draft Prospect Rankings tab him as the No. 15 player overall and No. 3 wide receiver, behind a pair of Biletnikoff Award finalists in Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. (who won the award) and LSU's Malik Nabers. Chris Trapasso projected Coleman to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 19th overall pick in his latest mock draft.
"Coleman would be the ideal replacement if Mike Evans bolts in free agency." Trapasso wrote.
Coleman's got the length and frame to stand up against NFL cornerbacks. While he isn't a speedster, he is a contested-catch specialist with plus leaping ability and a large wingspan that allows him to box out and nab passes out of the air. Even if he can't crack the wide receiver rotation off the bat, Coleman could contribute immediately as an effective special teams returner.
What it means for Florida State
Coleman's decision means Florida State will have to replace each of its top three receivers entering the 2024 season as he joins wideout Johnny Wilson and tight end Jaheim Bell in declaring for the NFL Draft. Those three accounted for just under 53% of Florida State's total yards passing and 15 of its 25 touchdowns through the air.
FSU's top returning wide receiver is set to be Ja'khi Douglas, who plays out of the slot and finished 2023 with 12 catches for 230 yards. There isn't another wideout on the roster that finished the year with at least 10 catches.
The Noles do have some intriguing young options that could fill the glaring void, though. Florida State signed five star Hykeem Williams, the No. 4 wide receiver in the class of 2023, and finally added Destyn Hill -- who signed with the Seminoles in 2021 as a four-star wide receiver but took a year off due to personal family matters -- as a true freshman this season. Neither played a huge role but both have the recruiting pedigree to generate big expectations.
The Seminoles also inked a pair of four-star wide receivers in Lawayne McCoy and Elijah Moore during 2024's early signing period. They'll have plenty of opportunity with all the snaps up for grabs. Florida State could always dip into the transfer portal to find more proven help as well, as it has in each of the past two years with Coleman and Wilson.
