Rookie wide receivers are a 50/50 proposition when trying to evaluate them for fantasy football. In this edition of the 2024 Rookie Faceoff, we compare two receivers taken on the 1/2 turn of the 2024 NFL Draft. To see where they both fall in our rankings, check out our Rookie Rankings Page. Also, check out the 2024 NFL Draft coverage to stay up-to-date. For the sake of this faceoff, we will be comparing the prospects in seven categories. Size, speed, route running, hands, college production, and college dominator rating as well as draft capital and landing spot. Welcome to the 2024 Rookie Faceoff: Keon Coleman v Xavier Legette.
This faceoff features two uncertain receiver prospects that both went higher in the NFL Draft than many expected. Legette and Coleman went back to back to the Panthers and Bills and are sure to be hotly debated all offseason. This is one of those scenarios where these two are likely to be compared and linked for their entire careers, always being used as the “what-if”.
Meet Keon Coleman
Embed from Getty ImagesKeon Coleman was a three-year player who split his collegiate career between Michigan State and Florida State. He produced an elite season at both schools which shows his ability to be productive in different systems. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine his explosiveness was on full display as he crushed the Vertical Jump with a score of 40″ good 93rd percentile, and the Broad Jump with a score of 126″ good for the 81st percentile. Coleman projects to be a fast and physical X-receiver for the Buffalo Bills and should get plenty of chances to prove himself.
Meet Xavier Legette
Embed from Getty ImagesXavier Legette spent five years in college but showed little to no production for the first four years of his career before having a monster breakout at The University of South Carolina in his final college season. He too posted excellent explosiveness metrics at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. He posted a Vertical Jump score of 38″ which is good for the 80th percentile, and a Broad Jump score of 127″ which is good for the 85th percentile. Legette is the ultimate case of a limited track record of success being trumped by one season of elite production.
Player Comparables
The two most relevant player comparisons for Coleman and Legette have both been busts to this point, although one has shown flashes of elite skill when he stays healthy. Coleman’s profile has him closest to Kansas City Chiefs receiver Kadarius Toney due to his big play potential, while Legette is closest to Cleveland Browns receiver Cedric Tillman who displayed tons of potential coming out of college but has failed to produce to this point. Neither player has been a fantasy stud outside of a few blowup games for Toney when healthy, but the skill is there in the players and their comps. Hopefully, these two rookies can overachieve their player comps and stay healthier than they did. For now, let’s take a look at the 2024 versions of them to see if one stands out more than the other.
Size Comparison
This category is as always a straightforward numbers comparison. Xavier Legette checks in at 6’1″ and 221 lbs, while Keon Coleman checks in at 6’3″ and 213 lbs.
So, our first category will be a point for Coleman. He may be eight lbs lighter, but at two inches taller, his frame gives him the potential to bulk up in an NFL weight room and be a monster X-receiver.
Legette may be the bulkier receiver at this point, but I don’t expect that to be the case come training camp. Coleman has the higher potential size here so he wins the size comparison.
Winner: Keon Coleman (1-0)
Speed Comparison
As far as speed goes, we have another straightforward numbers comparison. Xavier Legette ran a 4.39 second 40-yard Dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. Keon Coleman ran a 4.61 second 40-yard Dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
This category was a shockingly large win for Legette. we are seven articles into this series and this is easily the biggest gap in speed we’ve seen to date. Coleman’s lack of speed is going to be a major concern for his long-term potential, while it is a huge asset for Legette.
In possibly the most one-sided category we’ve seen in this series, Legette crushes Coleman in head-to-head speed, despite Coleman running considerably faster in the gauntlet drill than any other player.
If you are rostering Coleman, you should hope that the gauntlet drill is indicative of his ability to play faster on the field than he runs in the 40-yard Dash.
Winner: Keon Coleman (1-1)
Route Running
This is our third head-to-head category and will look to give one of these receivers a 2-1 lead in the faceoff. Xavier Legette graded out at 89% on short routes, 94% on intermediate routes, and 95% on deep throws, for an average score of 93%. Keon Coleman graded out at 79% on short routes, 82% on intermediate routes, and 84% on deep throws, for an average score of 83%.
We have our second consecutive run-away victory for Xavier Legette. Legette’s lowest grade was 89% on short routes, which is still 5% higher than Coleman’s highest grade of 84% on deep throws.
This one isn’t even close. If it weren’t for the speed comparison, the route-running comparison might be the most lopsided category in this series. Legette is an excellent route runner who wins in different ways, while Coleman is a good route runner, but not nearly at the level of Legette.
Winner: Xavier Legette (2-1)
Hands
Another category and another Xavier Legette win. Legette is one of the better pass-catchers in this draft class and received a hands grade of 89, as compared to a hands grade of 83 for Coleman.
Both players are excellent pass-catchers, but Legette is just slightly better. This category could also see a case made for quarterback play. Ultimately, Spencer Rattler was a far more accurate passer than Jordan Travis, so that also plays a role here in hands grade. Although when accurate passes were thrown, Legette was still the better of the two receivers.
Winner: Xavier Legette (3-1)
College Production
As far as production goes, the winner here is easily Keon Coleman. In two of his three college seasons, he recorded more than 50 receptions, 650 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. A feat that’s even more impressive when you factor in that those two seasons were at different schools. His best season was 58 receptions, 798 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. His career total was 115 receptions, 1,506 receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns.
Xavier Legette had only one season of elite production out of five seasons which is a major concern. His best season was 71 receptions, 1,255 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. He also posted career numbers of 113 receptions, 1,678 receiving yards, and 12 touchdowns.
Perhaps the most troubling thing here is that if you remove Legette’s final season of production, you get a four-year career production line of 42 receptions, 423 receiving yards, and five touchdowns.
Winner: Keon Coleman (2-3)
College Dominator
It’s a real shame that only one receiver can get the point in this category as these two posted two of the best college dominators of all time.
Xavier Legette posted an outstanding college dominator of 35.5% which is one of the best in recent memory. Not to be outdone by Legette, Coleman posted a college dominator of 39.6%.
You likely won’t find dominators higher than these two in this year’s draft class. They were truly dominant players, especially during their final seasons. As I said to start, it’s a shame only one receiver can get the win here, but the point goes to Keon Coleman to tie the score.
Winner: Keon Coleman (3-3)
Landing Spot & Draft Capital
The draft capital argument here is semantics. Sure, Legette was a first-round pick and Coleman was a second-round pick, but they were one pick apart in reality so I’m not sure it matters as much in real life as it does on paper.
The difference here is the landing spot. Legette was selected 32nd overall by the Carolina Panthers. While the Panthers are a young team that should allow him plenty of opportunities to produce, they are still very young and will need to greatly improve for him to have significant upside. He will also have to compete with newly acquired Diontae Johnson for targets. With Johnson’s history of being a target monster, Legette sees a slight decrease in his ceiling.
Coleman goes to a Buffalo Bills team at the start of the second round that has a total lack of options at receiver which should allow Coleman to walk onto the field from day one and be the WR1 on this roster.
From the perspective of potential target share and better offense, Coleman gets the point here to earn him the 4-3 win.
Winner: Keon Coleman (4-3)
And the Winner is…
The winner here is Coleman by a score of 4 to 3. The theme of this matchup seems to be bipolar traits. One category was dominated by Legette, only to see the next category dominated by Coleman.
This faceoff should serve to illustrate that while both Legette and Coleman have immense potential, they both carry significant risks. Both players have tons of talent but are massively flawed in different ways. This is one of those scary situations in the rookie draft where the receiver you are drafting could be a future top-10 dynasty receiver, or they could be out of the league before their first contract ends.
If you are selecting either of these guys, it’s a swing for the fences, but the odds say at least one of them will be a strikeout.
If you would like to learn more about Coleman and Legette, check out our 2024 Rookie Sneak Peek videos of both players on The Fantasy Football Universe Podcast.
