Keon Coleman

The Bills have been without a top receiving threat since Stefon Diggs’ departure. The team traded out of the first round in 2024 before taking Coleman at the beginning of the second. Coleman (still 22 years old) will look to build on his inaugural season, in which he posted just 22 receptions for 556 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Despite the pedestrian overall numbers for Coleman, he did post a gaudy 19.2 yards per reception, good for 4th in the league. Many of his efficiency numbers look good, in fact. What slowed him down was being in a crowded receiving room with several veterans who stole snaps from the rookie. To that point, Coleman, who ran only 308 routes in 2024 (76th overall), has a case to break out if he sees more usage.

I was higher than some and lower than others on Coleman coming out of Florida State. He’s a rangy wideout who’s better in contested catch situations than he is at gaining separation. I think he could be a significant threat in the red zone. I like Coleman at his current redraft ADP, although I’m concerned the team will deploy a wide receiver by committee approach once again in 2025 and therefore wouldn’t go out of my way to reach for him.

-Blake Stachel (@bllakkay)

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid are expected to practice in full leading up to the Bill’s much-anticipated showdown with the Detroit Lions, according to Ian Rapoport. Coleman has missed the past four games due to a wrist ailment, while Kincaid has been sidelined since Week 10 with a knee injury.

While Coleman’s return figures to slightly downgrade the prospects of Khalil Shakir, Amari Cooper, and Mack Hollins, among others, the rookie boosts quarterback Josh Allen’s fantasy upside even further as a lethal deep threat in Joe Brady’s offense. Meanwhile, Kincaid should operate as the team’s top tight end once again, making Dawson Knox expendable in all formats.

Bills rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman has risen up draft boards significantly since the Pre-NFL Draft to today. Of note, Keon Coleman has moved up 60.9 spots from round 12 on UnderDog to round 7.

There is largely a bearish sentiment on Keon Coleman due to his inability to create separation ala Stefon Diggs. Psychologically, there is a difficulty reconciling Keon Coleman not being Stefon Diggs while having the issue of not offering the agility in route running his predecessor provided. 

Josh Allen’s career took off once he had Stefon Diggs in town. The concern isn’t whether or not Josh Allen can thrive, rather if Keon Coleman can garner enough attention in the Bills offense to draw significant enough target share to warrant being selected in round 7. Tight end Dalton Kincaid goes in round 5 and is being hyped as the focal point in the Bills offense in the same vein as Travis Kelce is used on the Chiefs. 

With the concern of Dalton Kincaid being the alpha target hog in the Bills offense, Coleman also has to deal with Curtis Samuel having an edge in experience having worked with offensive coordinator Joe Brady prior. Add in the Bills expected proclivity to run the ball more with James Cook and Josh Allen calling his own number, keeping a level headed approach when selecting Keon Coleman in drafts will prove wise. Incorporate a low 4-8% requisite exposure or fade all together, but don’t get caught with heavy bags on the Bills rookie wideout.

Although Keon Coleman was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round to shore up a massive hole at wide receiver, it appears as though it will take some time for the former Florida State standout to fill the void left by Diggs and Davis. According to Bills GM Brandon Beane, “he’ll have to learn the offense” and will be brought along slowly. And although every rookie from the 2024 class will be afflicted with varying degrees of learning, Coleman figures to be tasked with a steeper learning curve than most. After all, the 21-year-old will be playing in an offense led by Josh Allen that has been searching for an elusive Super Bowl ring.

While Beane did allude to the fact that he anticipates that Coleman will eventually “learn multiple spots” and become a key cog in the offense, he said that it “might not be right away.” This development is far from ideal for his fantasy prospects heading into the 2024 season, even if Coleman has a sky-high ceiling down the road as a freak athlete and downfield threat in an offense led by the consensus QB1 in fantasy. Shakir, on the other hand, heads into the year as the only Buffalo wideout to have caught a pass from Allen in a regular season game. His stock should only grow after Beane’s comments regarding the development of Keon Coleman, who should remain nothing more than a high-upside, late-round selection in your fantasy league.