It's safe to say that Keon Coleman hasn't met the expectations that the Buffalo Bills have had for him this season. It's not hyperbole to say his disappointing performance has derailed the offense. It seems his issues are as prominent off the field as they are on the field.
From his unimpressive numbers to his absence in big moments, Coleman has been anything but the reliable boundary threat that the Bills had hoped to draft. Now, for the first time in his career, he was a healthy scratch for gameday. Buffalo opted for Gabriel Davis and Mecole Hardman Jr. instead of their "Future WR1".
Keon Coleman's hot start
In Week 1, against the Baltimore Ravens, it felt like an answered prayer to see Keon play. The Bills gave him 11 targets, more than any other player in the game, and he hauled in 8 of them including a fourth quarter touchdown en route to their huge comeback win.
On their game-winning drive, with under a minute and a half remaining, Josh Allen found Coleman twice to get into position for their last-second field goal. The comeback simply doesn't happen without him receiving.
Getting more out of Keon Coleman was something that drew high focus in 2024, until his injury derailed his rookie season. Now Keon is at full strength. He entered the season with a bang and fans thought, perhaps believed, that he was ready to be the WR1 Buffalo sorely needs. Week 1 assured them of that, and they haven't felt comfortable since.
A downward trend
Since that heroic performance, a career day for Coleman, he has been beyond disappoint.
Technically speaking, Keon Coleman only had a 2% drop rate prior to playing Tampa Bay. The problem seems, at least on the surface, not an issue of skill, but effort. One cannot drop the ball if they never make an attempt on difficult catches. It seems that balls thrown near the sideline, or in particularly close coverage, aren't worth fighting for.
""He knows if I’m not satisfied. It’s fair that you’re asking about [that]""Sean McDermott, Week 11 Monday presser
It's been most notable through the Bills losses. In every down offensive day for the Buffalo Bills this season, Keon Coleman has a play or more where he simply gives up fighting for the ball. Effort has hurt multiple drives for Buffalo this season. Even if he doesn't secure the catch, forcing defenders to believe he will can draw invaluable pass interference and holding penalties.
The will, the drive to chase the ball and force the man across from you to do something about it is as critical to the game of football as putting on your uniform- It's hard to watch when it's missing. Keon didn't get a uniform against Tampa.
The stats back up his lackluster performances. After the scintillating Week 1 win in which he picked up over a third of his season's yardage, Keon Coleman was averaged 3 catches per game for only 27.25 yards. He only has two games in which he eclipsed 30 receiving yards from Week 2 to Week 10.
Coleman's opportunity
Often, players disappear off the box score due to a lack of opportunity, but that simply isn't the case here. Keon has had ample chances to make plays; He leads all Bills receivers in offensive snaps this season.
Be it the injuries suffered by his teammates, such as fellow prototypical wideout Joshua Palmer, or a concerted effort by coaching staff to get him into the game, Coleman is just not producing. He has the second-most targets on the team.
Few players have had the opportunity to excel that the Buffalo Bills have awarded Keon Coleman. Instead, he is benched for a drive to start the New England Patriots game due to tardiness.
When he does take the field, he is immediately fed the ball and puts it on the ground, allowing the Patriots to score a field goal. That field goal was all the difference in the three-point loss. Sean McDermott remarked on Keon's benching and his play after the game.
Not to lay blame at Coleman's feet for every bad moment, but there have been innumerable errors in Coleman's film this season. Unfortunately, his off the field issues are as big a problem. Keon Coleman is late to meetings often, including Friday's meeting, leading to his inactive status against the Buccaneers. For the third time in his young career, he is his own worst enemy off the field and a problem for the franchise.
Season's projection
According to numerous insiders, the team says Coleman's benching was not performance-based, but disciplinary. It's difficult to take that statement entirely at face value; Especially when they gave the retreaded Gabe Davis the nod over him. Buffalo isn't getting the play they need from Keon, nor the commitment to the work that's expected of NFL players. His tardiness is just part of the problem.
Keon won't be a healthy scratch all season, this is undoubtedly a temporary choice, but it does cast doubt onto the future of the young WR. If discipline remains an issue, what do the Bills do? If he's unable to win reps against this group of receivers, given the mass of opportunities he's had, what place does he have on the roster? What place does he have in the league? The Buffalo Bills need better, and if Keon Coleman can't give it to them, they must look elsewhere.
Coleman will get his reps, the team hasn't given up on him and they won't this season, nor should they. He's a young, capable player with great tools. He can absolutely develop those skills and grow. The issue is that, in a shockingly difficult year for Josh Allen and the Bills, Coleman is part of the problem. That doesn't change overnight. His teammates know it too; Just ask Dion Dawkins.
""Pats on the back are over with and it's time for him to grow up and he knows it."Dion Dawkins on Keon Coleman, postgame
"Being great is hard. Pushing for greatness is hard. We’ve got his back, but the time is now""
Whatever the issue, he is still backed by his team and by his coaches. Sean McDermott came to his defense in his own postgame press conference. This is not the end.