Grading The Cowboys Draft: Danny Coale.

Continuing the ongoing series that graded the Dallas Cowboys 2012 NFL draft, we now move on to round 5.  WR Danny Coale will be profiled in this article. You can read all of the previous 2012 NFL draft articles here.

Danny Coale,  WR Virginia tech

6-0  200  4.5 40  6.69  3 cone (combine top performer)

Grade entering draft: 58.2

My Grade: Potential/impact B+  Value A-

Coale was born in Lexington, VA and attended Epsicopol high school. He did a little bit of everything for Coach Mark Gowin there. He played wide receiver, defensive back, returned punts and kickoffs and also handled the place-kicking and punting duties. He caught 27 passes for 564 yards and nine scores as a senior, and he scored twice on returns. He recorded 27 catches for 780 yards, racking up 14 touchdowns as a junior. He also had four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

He compiled 109 career catches for 2,367 yards and 33 touchdowns. He earned all-state honors three-straight seasons, including first-team honors his last two years. He was a second-team All-Met pick by The Washington Post as a senior, was listed as the No. 17 overall player on the Virginia 33 by SuperPrep and ranked the No. 21 player in the state of Virginia by The Roanoke Times. He was a member of the SuperPrep Mid-Atlantic Team. and earned first-team all-state honors as a lacrosse player.

In 2011, Coale became the first Hokie to earn the ACC’s James Tatum Award, an award given to the conference’s top senior football student-athlete. He finished his career second in Tech history in both receptions and receiving yards, behind teammate Jarrett Boykin. Coale started all 14 games at wide reciever and punted in four. He played over 800 snaps on offense and 82 on special teams for a total of nearly 900. He had 60 receptions for 904 yards and three touchdowns. He also added four carries for 26 yards and eight punt returns for 52 yards. His versatilty is evidenced by his 13 punts for 565 yards (43.5 yard average) with a long of 61.

You can see his career stats below.

There is a lot of value in getting a guy like Coale in the 5th round. Unfortunately, he has some tough competition to make the roster. When you think of guys like Dwayne Harris, Raymond Radway, Andre Holmes, and veteran Kevin Ogletree, combined with missing OTA’s due to finishing school, he will really have to stand out in training camp. Not to mention, undrafted rookie free agent Coal Beasley ( I will be doing a story on him in the near future) is already turning heads in OTA’s. Either way, Coale was a solid pick for the Cowboys. There is some concern that Coale tends to drop passes in clutch situations, but I have faith in Coach Robinsons’ ability to develop him in to an impact player.

In spite of being the 28th ranked WR in the 2012 draft, Cole’s draft stock began to rise with an excellent showing at the scouting combine in February. He ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash and displayed strong route-running and good hands in positional drills. That was only a precursor to the 4.37 40 he ripped off at his March 15 pro day to go along with a 37-inch vertical.

Strengths: Deceiving quickness and catches the ball in stride, keeping himself clean in his movements, not forced to gear down. Savvy route runner with precise footwork to waste little time in/out of his breaks. Very good field awareness. Does a nice job extending his arms and reeling in passes away from his body with top hand/eye coordination. Dependable, usually sure-handed target. Shows good toughness to secure catches in traffic with a fearless and aggressive mentality. High character and team-first person. Good head on his shoulders. Four-year starter (54 career starts) with very good playing experience with added versatility. Also played on special teams coverage as a punt returner and punter.

Weaknesses: Only average height and size with shorter arms (30 1/2-inch). Limited strength and bulk on his frame and lacks the power in his limbs to routinely beat press and create separation. Hasn’t added much muscle, weighing only 195 out of high school. Lacks the playing speed to stretch the field. Bit stiff in his hips and isn’t a sudden mover. Not overly elusive. Limited as a blocker with poor base strength. Didn’t find the end zone much in college with only 8 career scores. Averaged only 1 touchdown for every 20 catches. (Dane Brugler)

When I look at this player, I see a lot of potential. He was a 4 yr starter for the Hokies at WR and has good size and balance that aids him in the slot. He is a smart player with good burst in short areas, this helps him to get open in zones. He increases his production by causing defenders to miss tackles and gets upfield.  He has all the intangibles to succeed at the next level. He has the ideal  speed, quickness  and football IQ coveted by NFL teams.

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