Patriots reportedly adding WRs Corey Coleman, Bennie Fowler -- what does it mean for New England offense?

The Patriots are signing wide receivers Corey Coleman and Bennie Fowler to help shore up a depleted receiving corps, according to multiple reports.

The 24-year-old Coleman had 56 catches for 718 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons with Cleveland.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder was s first-round pick of the Browns in 2016, the 15th overall pick out of Baylor. As a collegian, he had an illustrious career -- he won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver in 2015 and was a unanimous All-American and first-team all-Big 12. He led the country with 20 touchdown receptions and had 74 catches for 1,363 receiving yards on the season.

However, it's been a different story for him in the NFL. He suffered a broken hand (twice), and never really seemed to click with the Browns. After two years with Cleveland, he was dealt to Buffalo this past summer for a seventh-round pick, but was cut just before the start of the 2018 season.

As for Fowler, a 27-year-old who has three seasons in the league, all with the Broncos. In his NFL career, Fowler has 56 catches for 698 yards and five touchdowns. As a collegian at Michigan State, Fowler had 93 catches in four seasons for the Spartans.

BSJ analysis: So what does this mean for New England?




As is the case with every acquisition at this time of the year, expectations need to be managed for both new pass catchers. Let's start with Coleman, the more intriguing of the two additions:

I certainly wouldn't expect him to be the type of player to come to New England and immediately light it up. If he can wrap his head around the playbook, that's a good start. If he can assimilate to the Patriots' system -- in the words of Phillip Dorsett, learn how to think like the quarterback -- that will also accelerate the process. But he's not going to go out Sunday against Jacksonville and catch eight passes.

If he can get up to speed in the system relatively quickly, based on his experience, Coleman projects to be a solid boundary target for the Patriots. Not a pure X receiver, but someone who can help stretch the field and open things up for the pass catchers underneath. He certainly has terrific physical skills (he ran a 4.37 40 at his Pro Day at Baylor), and if New England can find a way to make it click and he can regain some of that mojo that made him a beast in college, the Patriots will have found themselves a nice prospect.

Two other notes worth passing along: One, he has no punt return experience, but he did work as a kick returner as a collegian at Baylor. Two, he has a history with some occasional drops, both in college (10 drops) and in the pros. There was an awful one late in a game last year against the Steelers that likely cost Cleveland the game. (Football Outsiders has him for eight total drops in 19 games as a professional.) Something to keep an eye on here in New England.

As for Fowler, the 6-foot-1, 212-pounder is likely a backup receiver added for depth purposes. He's had a solid if undistinguished career to this point, with just one career game of more than 60 receiving yards. In truth, he's spent much of the last couple of years on special teams -- our pal Mike Loyko suggests Fowler might be the guy who would theoretically take over Brandon Bolden's special teams role. (For what it's worth, Fowler also has something of a history when it comes to drops.) His claim to fame? He was the guy who caught the last pass of Peyton Manning's career, that one coming in Super Bowl 50. Fowler has returned one punt as a professional but did work some as a kick returner in college.