WR Keon Coleman dubbed Bills' 'most dangerous' offseason addition

Bleacher Report has identified Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman as the team's "most dangerous" offseason addition.

Oct 14, 2023; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Keon Coleman (4) celebrates after catching a pass over Syracuse Orange defensive back Jason Simmons Jr. (6) (not pictured) during the first quarter at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports / Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Several talented wide receiver prospects were inevitably going to fall out of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft given the sheer number of premier pass-catchers available in this year’s class; while 22% of the selections in the first round were used on receivers, plenty of high-ceiling wideouts remained on the board at the start of the second round, with three out of the first five picks on day two being used on receivers. 

The Buffalo Bills used the first pick in the second round on Florida State pass-catcher Keon Coleman, adding a big-bodied target to a receiving corps that lost Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in the offseason. It’s perhaps a bit unrealistic to expect Coleman, who caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns in Tallahassee last season, to flawlessly replace the role and production vacated by either Diggs or Davis given the differences in their respective games, but the 21-year-old, regardless, projects as a significant part of Buffalo’s receiving corps; general manager Brandon Beane has already stated that the rookie will have the opportunity to win the team’s X wide receiver role throughout the summer.

Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler feels as though Coleman will not only immediately earn this role, but thrive in it. The writer recently identified the receiver as the Bills’ “most dangerous new addition,” suggesting that he’s primed to become the centerpiece of Buffalo’s passing game.

Related: Record-breaking rookie season projected for Bills WR Keon Coleman

“The Bills addressed [the departures of Diggs and Davis] by selecting Keon Coleman with the No. 33 overall pick,” Fowler wrote. “His 6'4" frame, explosiveness and ability to play above the rim should help him immediately become quarterback Josh Allen's favorite perimeter weapon. Second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid will threaten the seam, and the Bills also signed Curtis Samuel to round out the receiving core. But there's no question heading into camp about who should become the focal point in Buffalo's aerial attack.”

Coleman is a sound selection as the Bills’ “most dangerous new addition;” while one could make arguments for Curtis Samuel or second-round safety Cole Bishop, it’s Coleman who perhaps possesses the most raw talent and the highest immediate ceiling of any of Buffalo’s offseason acquisitions. Given his talent and opportunity, there’s a world where the rookie finishes as the top statistical receiver in a passing attack helmed by an NFL MVP-finalist at quarterback—thus, ”dangerous” seems a more than apt descriptor of his addition.

That said, we’ll push back a bit on Fowler’s claim that there’s “no question heading into camp about who should become the focal point in Buffalo’s aerial attack,” as Coleman, at this point, may not even be the favorite to enter the season as Josh Allen’s primary target. Tight end Dalton Kincaid flashed down the stretch in this rookie season, ending the year with 73 receptions for 673 yards and two touchdowns. 

Allen targeted Kincaid 91 times throughout the season, and with 241 targets vacated by the departures of Diggs and Davis, one could easily envision the tight end’s workload increasing significantly in his sophomore year. While Coleman may be Buffalo’s primary wide receiver as a rookie, it remains to be seen whether he can usurp Kincaid as the primary option in the passing game.