Some Fridays earlier this season, all Brad Idzik could do was watch in wonder.
THE Carolina Panthers Offensive Coordinator thought he knew what he would see. Friday practices typically dictate that the scout team’s offense gives way to the first team’s defense, letting the secondary play the ball without much resistance – a process of fine-tuning the team’s plans and assignments. defense before game day.
Enter Holy Cross undrafted rookie Jalen Coker.
“There were a handful of times where the balls were going over their heads, it looked like a throwaway play,” Idzik said earlier this week. “But here comes Jalen…”
The 6-foot-3, 214-pound receiver could get by, using his NFL Scouting Combine-Best Vertical 42.5 Inch Impressive jumps and ball skills. Other times no. But his attacks on the ball were regularly a spectacle to behold.
“You go out there and you play schoolyard ball,” Idzik added, “I don’t know how many people are going to cover Jalen Coker.”
Coker no longer makes these kinds of catches on Fridays against the first team defense. Indeed, he was promoted three weeks ago among the 53 players and has made the most of his opportunities. Over the past two weeks, he has caught seven passes on eight targets for 98 yards. His first NFL catch, against the Chicago Bears, Week 5, went for 31 yards. In Week 6, he notched a career-high 43 offensive snaps (65%) – tied with Xavier Legette (51, 77%) and Jonathan Mingo (30, 45%).
The promise he showed was praised by a Carolina Panthers team that is 1-5 but whose offense, now under the direction of veteran QB Andy Dalton, has shown enormous progress. Coker’s emergence has also been significant in the absence of veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen, who is still returning from a hamstring injury.
All this raises two questions:
How did someone like Coker make it past the NFL Draft?
And could it actually be a positive thing that he did — and ultimately landed with the Panthers?
“Everybody wants to get drafted,” Coker told the Charlotte Observer earlier this week, when asked the second question. “But you know, you make the most of your opportunities. So I think it was a blessing. I think I was supposed to be here. I think everything led to this moment, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Across the NFL, people knew Jalen Coker would be good
It’s not just Coker, Idzik and head coach Dave Canales who think Coker fits particularly well on this Panthers roster. NFL talent evaluators consider Coker’s situation close to ideal.
Take Eric Galko, for example.
Galko is the director of player personnel for the East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football all-star game that provides a platform for players with NFL dreams to shine. He intended to bring Coker to the game. And not just because of its Holy Cross credentials – he led the NCAA in touchdown receptions as a senior and left Holy Cross as the program’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards – but because of the promise of his potential: from his ability to take advantage of defensive backs, to go up and snatch fade balls, to open them without having to open them.
Because, in Idzik’s simple words, “generally it’s about doing the right thing when it comes to football.”
When asked if he thought he deserved to be a draft pick, Galko didn’t need to think twice.
“One hundred percent,” Galko said. “I thought athletically, from a college production standpoint, what he showed at the Shrine Bowl – I definitely thought he was a draft pick. The biggest surprise would have been if he wasn’t a highly sought-after free agent. And of course, he was highly sought after and the Panthers had to give him a decent guarantee to get there.
This guarantee meant at the time an advantageous contract: a signing bonus of $25,000 and a guaranteed salary of $225,000, per ESPN.
“And the good thing about going undrafted is you get to pick your spot,” Galko continued. “And he picked a place in Carolina that he really liked and gave him a path to get on the roster. And here we are.
This path to Carolina’s roster was obvious from the start — even if it wasn’t conveyed to him. Upon entering training camp, the The Panthers were looking to add weapons to surround then-starting quarterback Bryce Young.. They traded for Diontae Johnson, drafted Legette and had two returning contributors – second-year guy Mingo and veteran Thielen – in the stable. They also had Terrace Marshall, who had a great minicamp, and went for David Moore.
In other words, he had a lot to show.
Still, opportunities lurked under a first-year head coach — especially one like Canales, who has taken a chance on undrafted free agents before. During the Seahawks’ run en route to their appearance in Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015, Canales was part of a team that played five undrafted free agents.
Landing with the Panthers, according to Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focuswas ideal from the outside.
“Obviously there are pros and cons to (being undrafted), because if you’re a player, you’d rather have guaranteed contracts and be able to say you were drafted,” Sikkema said. “Carolina was an opportunity where they had some shots to win. They had an open-minded head coach. He was not a head coach who had been there for several years, who had put in place not only the front men of his squad, but also the depth elements at the back. No, this was all open. And fluid.
“So not only were there not a lot of star receivers in Carolina, but it was the fact that there was a whole new coaching staff that didn’t have connections to most of the guys on that team. roster that left them open-minded to say yes, this undrafted free agent that really stands out in training camp, we’re not only going to have him on our roster, but we’re going to give him an opportunity now, as we we have seen this over the last few weeks.
Jalen Coker’s route tree: “Physically, he can do them all”
At the end of training camp, Coker remained on the 53-man roster. He was then released as the Panthers gave way to six guys on waivers. But after clearing waivers, he returned to the practice squad, making the aforementioned explosive plays. Soon, his opportunity presented itself when Thielen – an undrafted receiver turned league mainstay in his own right – was placed on the injured reserve list.
He quickly became one of the best undrafted free agent rookie stories in the NFL.
And he can go further, Idzik said.
“We’re always looking for the right person to fit certain areas into a game plan,” Idzik said. “And Jalen has a diverse route tree that he’s capable of running. And you just have to continue to develop his understanding of “How are we going to move you training wise?” » In terms of movement? What is the detail that will give you leverage from the DB, or distance you from its help? So those are the details that we continue to develop with him to make sure that we can continue to add more routes to his tree.
“Because physically, he can do anything.”
And soon, if trends continue, he will.
