Missouri football wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 177th pick in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday, April 25, in Pittsburgh.
Coleman is the fifth Mizzou player to hear his name in this year’s draft. Defensive end Zion Young went to Baltimore and linebacker Josiah Trotter was picked by Tampa Bay at Nos. 45 and 46, respectively, in the second round. Defensive tackle Chris McClellan was a third-round pick by the Packers at No. 77, and right tackle Keagen Trost went to the Rams at No. 93 in the third round.
Mizzou has now sent its starting slot receiver to the league as a draft pick in back-to-back years, as Luther Burden III was a second-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 2025.
Fellow former Missouri wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dolphins in 2025.
Coleman spent his season with Missouri and led the Tigers in receiving out of the slot. Before arriving in Columbia, the St. Louis native spent one season apiece at Jackson State, Louisville and Mississippi State.
Here is what you need to know about former Missouri wide receiver and Dolphins draft pick Kevin Coleman Jr.:
Coleman took on the unenviable task of replacing Burden at slot receiver for Missouri, but he did the job extremely well.
He had 66 catches for 732 yards receiving in a Mizzou passing offense that largely struggled in 2025.
Coleman just does not drop passes and did well at the college level to create space for himself. According to Pro Football Focus, he had 200 catches and just seven dropped balls in his college career.
He was almost exclusively a slot receiver in college, and he thrived on short-area routes. More than half of Coleman’s total receiving yards with Missouri — 375 of 732 — came after the catch.
Coleman has a good feel for playing out of the slot, and he's got the speed to create quick separation and a strong arsenal of route running.
He really thrived against some this draft class' best corners at the combine, and it was telling that, even in his lone season in a Missouri offense that struggled to move the ball downfield, he was open often enough for six 6-plus-catch games. It's worth noting how good he was at holding on to the ball through hard contact.
Coleman's ability as a punt returner is also a plus.
Missouri WR Kevin Coleman Jr. is a hidden gem.Undersized but one of the quickest players in class, w/ hyper-elite hip fluidity & stem IQ to carve up zone coverage.- 81.7 career PFSN WRi- 2.55 YPRR*, 91st percentile since 2022- 13.11% CROE, 2.5% drop rate in '25**TruMedia pic.twitter.com/xg6lOjJRJ5
Just different 🤷♂️ @KevinLamarCole1 Kevin Coleman Jr. takes it back for a 67-yard punt return!#MIZ | #STP https://t.co/KDof54TIAv pic.twitter.com/FQEgx3ofNB
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) November 29, 2025
Another big Kevin Coleman catch over the middle, this one converting a huge fourth and seven. Lyrik Rawls triggers fairly well here, but just can’t quite get there. A split second earlier, and Kansas might win the game. pic.twitter.com/tOhK6HGuUH
40-yard dash; 10-yard split: 4.49 seconds; 1.62 seconds
Coleman received a 6.45 RAS score for his combine measurements. He recorded strong results in the broad and vertical jumps, but he was toward the back of the pack for his 40 time among wide receivers.
According to some reports, Coleman ran a 4.38-4.40 time in the 40-yard dash at Missouri’s pro day.