Keon Coleman was drafted with the hope of the Buffalo Bills finding the eventual WR1 for Josh Allen. Do the Bills view him that way in year one though? Looking at the roster, the Bills don’t have a clear cut number one option in the wide receiver room for the first time in quite a few years. They’ll have to rely on a multitude of receivers, such as new addition Curtis Samuel and tight end Dalton Kincaid, along with James Cook out of the backfield.
The second-round wide receiver quickly became a fan favorite not even a full 24 hours after his name was called on draft night. Replacing Stefon Diggs is big shoes to fill, and many Bills fans have already set his expectations through the roof. That begs the question, are the expectations for his rookie season too high?
The Buffalo Bills have been unclear about a lot to do with this offense as of late. For starters, who’s going to be the starting three wide receivers and what role each receiver will have, and that includes Coleman’s role. We can assume what each role will be based off of training camp, but that’s all it is. Assumptions. It’s fun to assume what Coleman will do, how many stats he’ll have, or what kind of plans Joe Brady and Josh Allen have for him in this offense, but the truth is, nobody knows. It’s still too early to say what role he’ll have this year, and that’s fine. The Bills have the veterans and the depth around him to take the pressure off of Coleman’s shoulders early on.
We see all these rookie wide receivers such as Ceedee Lamb, Odell Beckham Jr, and Amon-Ra St. Brown come and have a tremendous career as soon as they step onto the field and think that everyone else will be the same way. When in reality, not everyone will be a superstar early on, and it may take some guys 2-3 years to be effective in their offense. With veterans in this locker room right now like Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins, Coleman won’t have the pressure of being the focal point of this offense right away.
It’s the fanbase's job to be unrealistic and hope every single player has MVP-type seasons, but that also comes with some disappointment as well. We’ve had first-hand experience with the disappointment that comes with inflated expectations, such as with Gabe Davis. Keon Coleman has impressed this summer, there’s no denying that. However, Coleman’s expectations may need to be lowered just a bit. He has a very high ceiling and that’s shown with how he’s been battling in camp. It became a daily occurrence in training camp where Coleman would make a ridiculous catch over a cornerback, and that added fuel to the fire for fans' expectations.
As Bills fans, you want to be excited about a new player, especially someone who has been shining in practice. But Coleman is still just a rookie getting his feet wet in the NFL. There’s going to be some growing pains with his game, and there’s going to be some high points to his game where you sit back and are amazed by it. Coleman will be a great player, but don’t hit the panic button if that isn’t the case in eek 1.