Rookie roommates carve out important roles on Bills' offense

The Buffalo Bills have benefitted from key contributions by rookie wide receiver and running back the past two weeks.

Ralph Ventre | Oct 26, 2024

Oct 14, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (22) dives but lands short of a touchdown / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

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In a promising development, the Buffalo Bills' Week 7 receiving and rushing leaders are both rookies.

Wide receiver Keon Coleman went for a game-high 125 yards on four receptions and also had a touchdown catch overturned via replay. He's the NFL Rookie of the Week as a result. Running back Ray Davis rushed for a team-high 41 yards and one touchdown on eight carries. He added a six-yard reception on his lone target.

The two rookie performers have gotten early opportunities to contribute to the Josh Allen-led offense, and they look are looking like pretty good picks thus far.

"It means a lot. They put a lot of trust in us as rookies. We're pretty much doing what we got drafted here to do. Just stepping up and playing a good role," said Coleman, the No. 33 overall selection at the 2024 NFL Draft.

Ninety-five picks after drafting Coleman, the Bills selected a well-traveled running back with a history of production. As fate would have it, the two were assigned as roommates.

"That's turned into one of my best friends on the team. Getting to hang with him day in and day out. We actually room together for the games, so we get to chop it up a lot. It's been pretty cool," said Coleman, who leads the team in receiving yards (326) and yards per reception (20.4). "He's great. Keep his space clean. Keep my space clean."

While Coleman has been taking significant reps from the regular season's start, Davis broke out while filling in for the injured James Cook on Monday Night Football in Week 6. The fourth-round running back totaled 152 yards from scrimmage, including 97 rush yards, in the 23-20 win over the New York Jets on October 14.

Next, the rookie roommates hit the road to the Pacific Northwest for an October 27 non-conference battle against the Seattle Seahawks.