The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be looking deep at the wide receiver crop in this year’s draft.
Last week, longtime NFL Draft analyst Ryan Fowler revealed that the Chiefs would be hosting top-30 visits in Kansas City with Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and with USC’s Makai Lemon. Tate and Lemon are expected to be the first two wideouts drafted. Later in the week, Fowler added Georgia State’s Ted Hurst to the pass catchers who will be visiting One Arrowhead Drive.
Houston based beat reporter Aaron Wilson
also shared that Missouri wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. will meet with the Chiefs. At this time, it is not clear if Coleman has a top-30 visit scheduled with the team or if the reported meeting is a permitted local visit or invite to participate in the Chiefs’ local pro day.
Background
Coleman was a four-star recruit out of St. Mary’s High School in St. Louis. Despite offers from over 30 Division I programs — including Alabama and Oregon — he chose to play for head coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State. As a true freshman, Coleman caught 32 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns and was named the Southwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. When Sanders departed after the season for Colorado, however, Coleman entered the transfer portal.
He latched on at Louisville for 2023 before hitting the portal again. In 2024, he played for Mississippi State before finally landing in Columbia last season. Over the past two seasons of SEC play, Coleman combined for 140 receptions for 1664 yards and seven scores.
Across his three seasons at the top level, Coleman averaged 8.1 yards on 57 punt returns. He scored a touchdown on a return for the Tigers in 2025.
Coleman’s performance at the NFL Scouting Combine last month did not stand out. His 4.49-second 40-yard dash time is underwhelming for a wide receiver under six feet tall and weighing less than 180 pounds.
Particularly concerning from his run is the 1.61-second 10-yard split. This number would be slower than all six wide receivers that general manager Brett Veach has drafted. It would also fall short of Byron Pringle and Nikko Remigio — the two undrafted free agent wideouts to have carved out roles during Veach’s tenure.
Per Wilson, at Missouri’s recent pro day, Coleman’s 40-yard speed was timed between 4.38 and 4.4 seconds.
My analysis
Coleman’s highlights through two productive seasons of SEC play will look very familiar to Chiefs fans. He thrives at turning targets near the line of scrimmage into chunk plays with outstanding yards-after-the-catch (YAC) ability.
At the next level, Coleman will be a slot-only option. He has shown the ability to catch the ball in a crowd and hold onto the ball through contact. His drop rate at Missouri was a low 2.5% in 2025.
Coleman makes good things happen on low average depth of target (ADOT) plays in many of his highlights, but his deep ball tracking is underrated.
The wideout was one of the big winners of this year’s Senior Bowl, where Coleman drew rave reviews for his routes and reliability catching the ball.
If Coleman slips to the fifth round or later, special teams will likely be his first opportunity to suit up for games. His return game experience will give him a good chance to stick on a roster early and possibly build a role on offense.
As he visits teams, Coleman faces three major questions. The first thing NFL squads must assess is whether to be concerned that he played for four different colleges in as many seasons.
There have been widely varying reports of his timed speed this offseason, so teams will need to make their own determinations about his burst. Long speed is probably not crucial to Coleman’s eventual NFL role, but the low 10-yard split on his 40 time raises concerns about continued success maneuvering the slot on Sundays. He makes excellent decisions with the ball in his hands and should be able to find a role even if his speed proves only average.
The biggest concern Coleman should face is his light frame holding up in the middle of the field. Two seasons of SEC action leave no doubt of his toughness, but he will take bigger shots in the NFL than he regularly did in college.
Fit with the Chiefs
Fit: Moderate
Round Grade: Fourth to fifth round
The traits that made him a highly sought recruit in 2022 are still there. Coleman’s combination of solid hands and YAC value makes him a good fit for many of the staples of head coach Andy Reid’s offense. However, the Chiefs have recently preferred bigger bodies for slot and gadget receivers — first with Kadarius Toney and for the last three seasons with Rashee Rice. If Coleman’s weight were over 190 pounds, he would be a much stronger fit.
He is unlikely to offer value lining up across the field in different formations; Coleman is likely limited to the slot. To become a regular starter, he will need to justify a role like Josh Downs of the Indianapolis Colts has. If the Chiefs drafted Coleman, the move would ideally be paired with an earlier investment in a bigger wide receiver who can line up outside or a pass-catching threat at tight end.
The Chiefs could easily draft a receiver like Coleman to replace Nikko Remigio as the primary punt returner while initially working him into the offense in package plays. A rookie receiver of his build seeing extensive action in 2026 would probably speak badly of the development of second-year wideout Jalen Royals and running back Brashard Smith.
