Once the breaking news hit about the Buffalo Bills trading away Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, the writing was on the wall that Brandon Beane wanted to go in a different direction at the wide receiver position. Any NFL fan should have known that the Bills were going to come out of this year’s draft with atleast one or two rookie receivers. While the Bills did walk out of the draft with Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman, they traded back twice out of the first round before selecting him. Essentially, they got the guy that they could have had in the first round but were able to acquire more draft picks.
The Bills kicked off the second round by drafting Coleman who became an instant fan favorite for his love of cookies and energy that he brought when meeting members of the organization. As Coleman gets ready for his rookie season, it is important to remember that he has a great situation. He has Josh Allen as his quarterback and he can become the new number one receiver in Buffalo. With Diggs and Gabe Davis out of town, it is a new look receiver room.
Coleman’s game tape shows us that he is a big receiver who can come down with contested catches. In addition, Coleman is also a solid possession receiver who can get open in space to make a play for the offense.
It is going to be important for Coleman to make an impact sooner than later. With how this Buffalo receiver room is, there is not a ton of talent on paper. Khalil Shakir is the only true receiver coming back from last year who caught a pass from Allen. The rest are new or did not see the field at all last year with the Bills.
Another advantage that Coleman has coming into his rookie season is having Joe Brady as the play caller. With the system that Brady runs, Coleman should not be the go-to guy like Bills fans saw with Diggs for the past four years before Brady stepped in. In the second half of the season, Bills fans saw guys like Khalil Shakir, Dalton Kincaid, and James Cook get heavily involved with the offense and prove that the Bills did not need Diggs to win. Coleman will have the chance to learn from these other players and then show what he can produce.
At the same time, Coleman needs to show that he can become the Bills’ new number one wideout. He needs to display his talent with the contested catches and also needs to provide separation from defenders rather than have Allen force a throw into a tight window.