Josh Allen gives glowing endorsement of rookie WR: 'His play style is what we needed'

Josh Allen thinks that rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman brings a new, but needed dynamic to the Buffalo Bills' offense.

Oct 7, 2023; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Keon Coleman (4) checks his watch before the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports / Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

A wide receiver earning a proverbial ‘seal of approval’ from their quarterback is an important step in their adjustment to a new team and offensive system; a passer trusting their wideout will generally lead to an increase in targets, something that would, in theory, lead to an increase in production.

It didn’t take long for Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman to earn a thumbs-up from quarterback Josh Allen. In fact, the former All-Pro signed off on the pass-catcher before Buffalo even submitted the draft card.

Knowing that he would likely select a receiver with a premium selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Bills general manager Brandon Beane asked Allen to watch film of the draft’s premier pass-catchers to get his read on who he thought he could gel with offensively. He identified Coleman as a player of interest; Buffalo ultimately selected the Florida State Seminole with the 33rd overall pick in the draft.

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Coleman is immediately projected to play a prominent role in a Bills’ receiving corps that lost Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in the offseason; the two veterans combined for 1,929 receiving yards last season, and it will be up to Coleman, free agent signee Curtis Samuel, and third-year contributor Khalil Shakir to replicate the bulk of that production. 

It will be a stylistically different receiving corps for Buffalo, but the diverse skill set that Coleman possesses compared to the team’s other receivers is part of what made him attractive to Allen. During a recent appearance on NFL Network’s The Insiders, the quarterback talked about the rookie, suggesting that he brings something unique to the team’s receiver room.

The Josh Allen and Keon Coleman connection coming 🔜@JoshAllenQB discusses new rookie relationships heading into next season. pic.twitter.com/Lbj4gwDgcY

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 23, 2024

“I think that his play style [is] what we needed in our offense,” Allen said. “Talking with our offensive coordinator [Joe Brady], our quarterback coach [Ronald Curry], Brandon Beane, and obviously Coach McDermott, a guy that’s a big body guy and a guy that can go win on a back shoulder fade and is not afraid to be a physical wide receiver. 

“And then again, I think you pair him with some of the guys that we have in our room right now, I think Mack Hollins has been such a great addition so far to that room, his mentality, his mindset, it’s infectious to others. Curtis Samuel, he’s been obviously showing up here every single day ready to work. And then old faces like Khalil [Shakir] and Dalton [Kincaid], and again you start pairing those guys with Dawson [Knox] and some other guys that we found in this mix now, we’re going to have a pretty solid group that works together, and ultimately they work their tails off, which is fun to have.”

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A receiving corps that complements each other stylistically should, in theory, result in steady production that stems from several sources; that said, Coleman still projects to account for a bulk of the targets. The 21-year-old, who caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns in Tallahassee last season, projects as the team’s X wide receiver, indicating that he’s in for a bevy of targets on the boundary.

Coleman and Allen are already developing a rapport with OTAs, with the passer telling reporters that the rookie has “the tools necessary” to be a good receiver at the professional level.