EAST RUTHERFORD — Corey Coleman never lost confidence, only comfort.

So it's no surprise that, when the former first-round pick walked into the Giants' field house as one of the last players to arrive during media interview sessions last week, he did so with a huge grin on his face.

"Sorry, just got done dominating everyone in there in ping-pong," Coleman told NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network Northeast, cracking a smile while sliding his backpack off his shoulders. Seemingly all the weight he's carried for the last year while trying to find his way back into a good spot in the NFL is gone.

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This is another chance to finally show he can be as good as observers believed he could three years ago, and any angst he may have felt has been replaced by a satisfying ease with which he is approaching what would be a comeback story worth appreciating and, if realized, celebrating.

Because the Giants have started seeing glimpses of the Corey Coleman he was supposed to be.

"The way he's working every day, the sky's the limit for Corey, I'll tell you that," teammate Russell Shepard told NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network Northeast. "You don't get taken in the top 15 picks of the NFL Draft for no reason. The talent is there. At this point, he has the opportunity and the ability to be as good as he wants to be. It's just on him, and so far I'd say it looks like he wants it."

Coleman turns 25 next month, and he has been living with the bust label in the NFL. There was a learning curve on and off the field within a franchise in Cleveland that did not win a football game in his last regular season as a Brown.

Last summer, Coleman was shown on HBO's "Hard Knocks" suggesting to his former coach, the eventually-fired Hue Jackson, that the Browns should trade him — and the organization did just that, dealing him to Buffalo.

The Giants are convinced Coleman is in a different place a year later, and not just in terms of locale; the experience itself has taught him lessons he needed to learn in order to fight his way back to the top.

Humbled and hungry, having turned the page on three seasons of growing pains and potential, Coleman is poised to write a new chapter, and the Giants' hope it will be his best yet.

“He has the skill set; the speed, the hands. He’s never played multiple positions [at receiver] before he got here. We’re trying to get him to play all the positions," Giants wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said of Coleman. "Once he gets that down, his skill set should take over."

Added Eli Manning: "I think [Coleman's] determined to make this happen and make this work."

The Giants made a short-term investment last season, signing Coleman to the practice squad in October and ultimately their 53-man roster with no guarantees — and zero risks — regarding any dividends the acquisition could pay down the road. The Browns had picked Coleman with the No. 15 overall selection in 2016, the centerpiece of their return in a deal that netted the Eagles their franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz.

Coleman was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the best receiver in college football and a consensus All-American when he had 74 catches for 1,363 yards and 20 touchdowns at Baylor. He had 56 catches for 718 yards and five touchdowns over his first two seasons, but with Cleveland trading for Jarvis Landry and then signing him long-term, in addition to the drafting of Antonio Callaway last spring, his role was dwindling.

Then came the request and trade to Buffalo, and his release by the Bills in early September, followed by a chance with the Patriots just days later. They parted ways when Josh Gordon signed in New England, and Coleman had workouts with the Jets, Buccaneers, Eagles and Cardinals, but no deal.

Three teams in a six-week span sent Coleman's football world into a tizzy, and then finally, after those four tryouts without a contract offer, the Giants gave him a shot.

"You get somewhere and some places other guys look at you like, 'Damn, they're bringing you in here to take my job,'" said Coleman, who has spent the spring with the first-team offense alongside Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate in three-receiver sets. "It's hard coming to a team trying to learn a playbook when the team you get to in the middle of the season is doing whatever it can to win games. I just had to do my job the best I could, and you go out there hoping you get the plays right, instead of really knowing what's going on. That's not the case for me here anymore."

Coleman has always possessed the speed to play fast. He ran a 4.37 40-yard dash during his Pro Day at Baylor, and that certainly translates.

"I don't think anyone's ever questioned my speed," Coleman said. "Being fast is great, but being able to play fast, that's what it has to be about."

Asked during minicamp about the progress he has seen from Coleman, Giants coach Pat Shurmur told a story of how the two were going over the usage of receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen in Shurmur's offense in Minnesota, and just how curious Coleman was regarding where he fit with respect to both players, Diggs in particular.

Coleman and Diggs are friends, and there are similarities to their games, and the former was trying to understand the intricacies of a role he could ultimately thrive in.

"We are going to see the best of [Coleman]," Shurmur said. "He’s the first one to tell you when he came in the league, he had a lot to learn. Now he’s got an opportunity to maybe be a front-line player."

If Coleman can make the most of that chance, he could finally become the player many once believed he would be.

"You haven't seen the best of Corey Coleman yet," he said. "I feel like I'm getting better and better, and I'm just trying to stay humble and do what they ask of me. I'm happy to be here, and I'm not worried about what happened and didn't happen in the past. I don't look back in time. I'm comfortable with this team and in this offense, and I'm excited to show everything people thought I could do and I know I can still do in this league. Nothing's given to you, and it's my job to prove it."

Email: stapleton@northjersey.com

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