The Buffalo Bills and general manager Brandon Beane are in Indianapolis for the 2026 NFL Combine where they’ll no doubt be keyed in on the wide receivers in attendance. But no matter who the team adds from this draft class, third-year receiver Keon Coleman will still be on the roster looking to redeem himself after a dismal 2025 season.
As Bills Mafia is aware, Coleman was benched in four games this season, most instances related to discipline for what has been broadly described as immaturity. The 22-year-old then became the focus of conversation in a joint press conference with Beane and Bills owner Terry Pegula, in which the owner blamed the Sean McDermott coaching staff for drafting Coleman.
Despite the public controversy, new head coach Joe Brady and quarterback Josh Allen have publicly voiced their support for Coleman to bounce back in 2026. In his press conference at the Combine on Tuesday, Beane laid out the challenge Coleman will need to meet this season to do just that.
Keon Coleman must prove reliability to Buffalo Bills in pivotal third season
“I think we need to see Keon have the offseason he had a year ago, which was excellent. We couldn’t ask for anything more,” Beane said at his Combine press conference. “It’s the maturity, it’s the off-the-field. That can get in the way… I’ve seen that many times get in the way of people’s opportunities to grow, and not only on the field, but expand their net worth off the field.”
“So that is kinda the challenge to Keon: can you go back and do what you did all offseason and your training camp– and if you remember, he had a great game Game 1 against Baltimore– don’t let some of the maturity issues off the field affect the product on the field,” he said.
Coleman caught eight passes for 112 yards and a score in the opening game of the 2025 campaign, but he never came close to replicating that statline through the remainder of the season. Still, Coleman’s full 2025 stat line exceeds his more promising rookie season, but not so much to fool Bills Mafia from seeing the sophomore slump he endured.
Coleman has the physical tools that back up his selection as the No. 32 overall pick in 2024, a usual first-round pick in a normal draft. But as Beane suggested, the on-the-field tools are nothing if off-the-field issues keep him, well, off the field.
For Bills fans, it seems an absolute certainty that Buffalo will address the wide receiver position in the draft. Even if they do that, that doesn’t eliminate the chances that Beane also looks for a proven No. 1 target via free agency or trade on top of that. That’s two potential players who could slot in in front of Coleman on the depth chart before his third season begins.
Either way, Coleman has a steep hill to climb to get back into the good graces of the organization and the fanbase. It’s a long offseason until training camp, and it’s likely then that fans will get an idea of how well Coleman is answering the challenge Beane set at the Combine.