Is Rookie Steelers WR Sammie Coates 2015's Martavis Bryant?

Last year, it took fourth-round Pittsburgh Steelers draft pick Martavis Bryant seven weeks to make it onto the team's active roster. But once he did, the wideout made a serious difference. In 10 regular-season games played, he was thrown to 48 times and totaled 26 receptions for 549 yards and eight scores. His 21.1 yards per reception led the team, and his 54.9 average receiving yards per game was the second-highest among Steelers receivers.

Now, the Steelers have added a Bryant clone to the roster—Sammie Coates, whom the team selected in Round 3 of the 2015 draft. Look at the two receivers' NFL.com scouting reports prior to the drafts, and the similarities are striking.

"Shaky hands—tends to double-clutch the ball and makes too many easy drops... Must prove that he is willing to work to assimilate a playbook and learn the finer points of the game...Will require additional seasoning to make a mark in the pro game," Nolan Nawrocki wrote about Bryant last year.

Year	Rec.	Yds.	YPR	TD
2012	6	114	19.0	2
2013	42	902	21.5	7
2014	34	741	21.8	4
Total	82	1,757	21.4	13

Meanwhile, this year, his colleague Lance Zierlein had this to say about Coates: "Unreliable target. Inexplicable focus drops in all areas of the field...Stiff hips and limited route runner...Coates must be coached to trust his quarterback and run through his deep routes in order to reach his potential."

Both men also noted that Coates and Bryant each possess size, speed and athleticism that are ideal for an NFL wideout, but they had a rawness that needed coaching up. And indeed, that was the case with Bryant, who said last year that, "Coach Tomlin had told me that he wanted me to dominate on scout team before he would give me a hat [a chance to play]."

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The same might be the case for Coates this year, especially because the Steelers are in good shape as far as receiver is concerned, with Bryant joining Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton, and tight end Heath Miller and running back Le'Veon Bell also fixtures of the team's passing offense. The Steelers can afford to wait until Coates is truly ready to take the field, just as they could last year with Bryant.

And once that time does come, Coates could be a touchdown machine as Bryant was in 2014. As Pro Football Focus points out, 41.9 percent of Coates' collegiate targets were on throws of 20 or more yards. As such, his average yards per reception in college was 21.4, quite close to Bryant's average last season.

But Coates also had a drop rate of 19.1 in 2014, resulting in an average of one drop for every five times he was targeted. This is something he's been working on over the spring and will continue to focus on this summer. And so far, his teammates have nothing but good things to say about him. Wheaton said in May that, "He looks good. Obviously as a rookie, he has a lot to learn. But physically, he's where he needs to be."

Coates has also noted that the Steelers have been lining him up all over the field and not just using him as a deep threat. He said to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler last month that he didn't know where he'd be lined up until the play was actually called, which speaks to his range.

But receiver has a steep learning curve in the NFL, and the Steelers have the luxury of letting Coates get further acclimated to the position before putting him on the field. Then, as with Bryant, they can get the most out of him when he's ready. And, as with Bryant, Coates looks like he has the potential to gain big yards and score multiple touchdowns.

If it takes until Week 7 for Coates to be ready to make his regular-season NFL debut, the Steelers will have no problem with that. Given what Bryant accomplished after he was activated in 2014, getting something similar out of Coates in the second half of the season will suit the Steelers just fine.