How Bills WR Keon Coleman statistically compares to other rookie WRs entering Week 8

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman has been one of the NFL's most productive rookie wideouts thus far.

Kyle Silagyi | Oct 24, 2024

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Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is quite good at his job.

He’s proven this time and time again throughout his eight years at the helm of the organization, the night one tango he pulled off during this past April’s NFL draft just serving as recent evidence of this sentiment. The veteran executive entered the first day of the 2024 draft with the 28th overall selection and a pressing need at wide receiver; with a bevy of talented options available when his team went on the clock, Beane instead elected to trade the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, who used the selection on Texas speedster Xavier Worthy.

The move prompted ridicule from portions of the Buffalo faithful; why on earth would the Bills, who have fallen to the Chiefs in three of the last four postseasons, allow their rival to acquire a potentially dynamic offensive weapon? Beane didn’t view the deal through this lens, not necessarily caring who offered the trade for the 28th overall pick but instead prioritizing the value he received in exchange. He would ultimately trade out of the first round entirely before selecting his own trait-sy pass-catcher in the second round, grabbing Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick.

Widely regarded as a raw pass-catcher with a high ceiling but plenty of growing room in the pre-draft process, Buffalo has thrust Coleman into a significant role through the first seven games of his rookie campaign, as he’s played on a position-high 272 of the Bills’ offensive snaps (66%). He’s caught 16 of 27 targets for 326 yards and two scores, sitting as the team’s leading receiver at this point in the season.

And though he was the eighth wide receiver off the board in this year’s draft, he’s been one of the most productive rookie wideouts through the first few weeks of the 2024 season. Though he’s tied for sixth among rookies in targets and sits at eighth in receptions, he currently ranks third in receiving yards, behind only Jacksonville Jaguars pass-catcher Brian Thomas Jr. (512) and New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers (427); both Thomas and Nabers were first-round picks.

His reception percentage of 59.3% is good for tenth among rookie receivers with at least 10 targets, sitting above Worthy, Chicago Bears wideout Rome Odunze, and fourth-overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. In what is his most impressive showing, he ranks first among rookies with at least 10 targets in average yards per reception at 20.4 and average yards after catch per reception at 10.3, these statistics showcasing his big-play ability.

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Comparatively, Worthy—the player many feel the Bills ‘passed up on’ in favor of Coleman—is currently tied with the Buffalo rookie in targets (27) and has fewer receptions (15) and yards (198). He ranks ninth among first-year wideouts in catches and eighth in receiving yards, his average reception of 13.5 yards good for fifth among rookies with at least 10 targets.

It’s too early to make a definitive call on which receiver taken in the 2024 NFL Draft will ultimately prove to be the best of the class, as they’ve all only played a handful of games. That said, Coleman—who is still very much adapting to the professional level and refining his own game—has been productive thus far, showing immense promise as he’s made fans optimistic about his both immediate and long-term future in Orchard Park.

All statistics and ranks courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

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