On paper, there is no question that the Bills have one of the hardest schedules in the league, but I feel like this is the conversation we have every year for the last few seasons. The AFC East is a tough division, boasting three teams with a real shot at the title. Still, the Bills consistently find a way to edge them out and claim the crown. Can they do it again in 2024?
That might be a bigger question heading into the 2024 season than in recent years. Gone are stalwarts Jordan Poyer, Tre'Davious White, and possibly Micah Hyde, but the biggest change came on the offensive side of the ball when the Bills traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. Bills fans expected the Bills to draft a receiver, but when the trade went down, the expectation became drafting two receivers.
The latter did not happen to the surprise of many fans, but they did use their first pick of the draft, 33rd overall to select Florida State wide receiver, Keon Coleman. Coleman's already divisive status among fans reached a new level after his underwhelming 40-yard dash performance at the combine. Still, after he was selected, Bills Mafia began to see Coleman's personality come out with multiple videos that went viral and earned the nickname Keon "Cookie" Coleman.
Coleman wouldn't be the first Bills player to carry this nickname. Some of the older generation Bills fans remember running back Cookie Gilchrist, who was one of the best running backs in Bills lore helping the team win the 1964 AFL championship. Maybe the new "Cookie" in town is a sign of things to come for the Buffalo Bills. But before we get there, the Bills have a gauntlet of 17 games to get through, and I have four in my mind that will define Coleman's rookie season.