Bills HC praises rookie WR Keon Coleman in 'comfortable' preseason debut

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was complimentary of rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman following his NFL preseason debut.

Kyle Silagyi | Aug 10, 2024

Aug 10, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) runs with the ball after a catch in the second quarter of a pre-season game against the Chicago Bears at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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Though several prognosticators viewed wide receiver Keon Coleman as a generally raw prospect in the lead-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, there hasn’t looked to be too significant of a learning curve for the rookie as he’s adjusted to the professional level. Coleman, who was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the draft, has consistently crafted highlight-reel plays throughout the team’s ongoing training camp, showcasing a burgeoning rapport with quarterback Josh Allen as he’s produced splash play after splash play.

The rookie doesn’t necessarily look like a tenured veteran, but he appears to be a bit more polished than initially advertised, which has a contingent of the Buffalo faithful optimistic that the 21-year-old can be a more significant immediate contributor than initially anticipated. He hasn’t looked out of place when practicing with the first team, something that was again true in the Bills’ 2024 preseason opener as he took reps with the offensive starters.

He caught one pass in Buffalo’s preseason loss to the Chicago Bears, an eight-yard chain-moving completion from Mitchell Trubisky in the second quarter. He received an additional two targets later that drive in the end zone; he had to jar the first from the hands of Jaylon Johnson (who almost came down with a pick), and the other saw him get tripped up as he struggled to create significant separation against Jaylon Jones.

Keon Coleman has his first NFL reception 🙌pic.twitter.com/uD6N3Y3Oeb
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It wasn’t a flawless or statistically stellar debut from Coleman, but he was solid; he showed both flashes of promise and areas in need of improvement, both of which were to be expected from a rookie in their first NFL action. Bills head coach Sean McDermott was pleased with what he saw from the wideout, praising the rookie during his post-game press conference.

“I thought he looked comfortable,” McDermott said. “I thought he looked like it wasn’t too big for him, and that’s part of being a young player and adjusting. That didn’t surprise me, though, because he’s been taking things in stride that way. You see him out at practice every day, he’s executed, made some big-time plays. Today the ball didn’t find him as much, it wasn’t really a game plan whatsoever for us, we were just out there trying to make sure that we had a chance to see where we were fundamentally and overall as a football team, and then had a chance to evaluate our personnel.”

Praise of Coleman’s comfort within the offense is encouraging, as it could indicate that McDermott and company will not shy away from putting a potentially significant workload on his shoulders this fall. His usage in Saturday’s loss could also signal his potential immediate role; the wideout, who caught 11 touchdowns at Florida State last season, seeing two of his three targets in the end zone is interesting, to say the least. Buffalo is looking for new offensive contributors in the wake of the offseason departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis, and though we’re still relatively early in the process, it looks as though Coleman could account for a significant portion of the vacated production this fall.

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