Bills Central

Bills WR Keon Coleman Details Conversation with Hall of Famer Andre Reed: He's 'Where I'm Trying To Be'

Shortly after his selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver reached out to Hall of Famer Andre Reed. Here's what he learned.

Kyle Silagyi

Nov 18, 2023; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Keon Coleman (4)
Nov 18, 2023; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Keon Coleman (4) / Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

The road from Buffalo, NY to Canton, OH, for those who yearn to traverse it, is lengthy, is testing, is difficult to endure. It's, of course, known locally as the I-90; the trip takes roughly four hours, in decent traffic, and primarily runs along the not-exactly scenic shores of Lake Erie.

This interstate, however, isn’t the exact road that Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman wants to take. He’s aiming to take the more prosperous path, the one less traveled and more difficult to embark on. He wants to take the path that leads him to George Halas Drive and culminates with the unveiling of his bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It’s a road that’ll take several years, hundreds of receptions, and thousands of yards to realize, but it’s not one that hasn’t been traversed before. Several Hall of Fame wide receivers have worn the iconic charging Buffalo helmet throughout their respective NFL careers, perhaps none more notable amongst the Western New York faithful than Andre Reed. The wideout caught 941 passes for 13,095 yards and 86 touchdowns throughout his 15 seasons in Orchard Park, currently sitting atop the franchise leaderboard in all three of these statistics by a considerable margin. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

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It wouldn’t be egregious to describe Reed as the Buffalo Bills wide receiver. He played for the team for nearly two decades. He’s a Hall of Famer who still leads the team in every notable receiving statistic. He’s still a communal icon. If there were ever a career for a young Buffalo wideout to aim to emulate, it would be his.

And that’s why it was an easy decision for Coleman to reach out to Reed shortly after Buffalo selected him with the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Reed tweeted about Coleman’s proactive move on the night after his selection, noting that the rookie’s actions show that he “respects those who came before him” and that “he’s not playing around.”

For Coleman, the decision was as much about familiarizing himself with organizational royalty as it was a personal learning opportunity. During a recent appearance on the RG3 and The Ones podcast, the former Florida State Seminole spoke about the value of his conversation with Reed.

“He’s in the select group of where I’m trying to be, and he played for the same organization,” Coleman said. “I’m really just paying my respects but also trying to get a nugget here and there to learn how to get where he’s at.”

Coleman kept the bulk of the conversation’s specifics to himself but did share one of his more valuable takeaways: the importance of a wideout’s relationship with his signal-caller.

“We talked about, you have to get real close to your quarterback,” Coleman said. “There has to be a real connection there. Not just, you want to ball, you have to have a real personal connection with him because that connection goes deeper than just off the field, it helps on the field and off the field. It’s just like, why wouldn’t you want to have a brother that you can count on each other so much that you close your eyes, he closes his eyes, he puts the ball somewhere and you’re going to be there? That’s probably the best feeling in the world.”

Reed has experience in forming an enduring relationship with his quarterback, as he maintained a tight-knit bond with Jim Kelly throughout his playing career and subsequent retirement. He, at one point, even stated that he “[has a] gold jacket because of” Kelly, the strength of their relationship perhaps best exemplified by the passer’s inclusion in Reed’s Hall of Fame induction. Despite battling cancer at the time, Kelly appeared on stage with Reed in Canton, throwing him one final pass.

Aug 2, 2014; Canton, OH, USA; Andre Reed (left) and Jim Kelly pose with the bust of Kelly at the
Aug 2, 2014; Canton, OH, USA; Andre Reed (left) and Jim Kelly pose with the bust of Kelly at the / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Coleman’s relationship with current Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen likely won’t be as fairy tale-esque as that of Reed and Kelly—and how could it be?—but it’s one that he’s eager to form. It’s already gotten off on the right foot, as Allen—who gave Coleman his stamp of approval in the predraft process—has already reached out to his new weapon.

“That’s a dream come true,” Coleman said. “That’s going to make our relationship skyrocket instantly. We both love ball and we’re trying to win now, so we’re going to do what it takes.”

Coleman, who caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns in Tallahassee last season, will have plenty of opportunities to develop a rapport with Allen early in his career, as he figures to be an immediate contributor in a Buffalo receiving corps that lost Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in the offseason. 

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI