Keon

Coleman

Four days after leading the Bills in yards and targets, Coleman was nowhere to be found on a night where the Bills didn’t need to open things up offensively. Josh Allen attempted just 19 passes in a 31-10 victory. It speaks to how inconsistent the rookie second-rounder is likely to be as the Bills search for a new identity in their Stefon Diggs-less receiver group.

Coleman may not have had a gaudy statline, but he did lead the Bills in targets and receiving yards in Week 1 and played the most snaps of any wide receiver at 72.4 percent. Josh Allen also completed passes to 10 different receivers, which figures to be a huge part of the Bills’ passing offense with their new-look wide receiver corps. Coleman did make a highlight reel contested catch in blanket coverage down the sideline for 28 yards, which is exactly what the Bills drafted him to do. He doesn’t figure to put up big fantasy totals unless he finds the end zone, but it was a strong first showing for the rookie.

Josh Allen is expected to be amongst the starters who will play in Saturday’s game. McDermott said the starters are expected to play close to a full quarter, which will give us plenty to see out of the gate. How the Bills utilize their receivers in this first outing will be something to monitor as rookie Keon Coleman looks to mix in with veterans Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel.

The Bills now have the entirety of their rookie class under contract. To no one’s surprise, Coleman has been one of the biggest post-draft risers in the fantasy landscape. He was drafted one pick outside of the first round and landed in a spot with a runway to being Josh Allen’s top receiver as a rookie. Coleman has already turned some heads early in the offseason program and could see his ADP continue to rise through minicamp and training camp.

Claypool in 2023 had four receptions over nine games for the Dolphins after playing his way out of Chicago. He’s never reached the heights of his first couple NFL seasons, when he went for over 800 receiving yards and appeared to be a viable WR2 option. In both Miami and Chicago, Claypool reportedly had effort issues learning the playbook. Heading into his age-26 season, Claypool will look to carve out a role in Buffalo’s wide receiver room, which will be led by some combination of Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, and rookie Keon Coleman. It’s certainly possible Claypool won’t make the team this summer.

Coleman (6’3/213) began his collegiate career as a two-sport player for Michigan State. He was used sparingly as a football freshman but went straight onto the court after the season ended, appearing in six games for the basketball team. In his second season, Coleman led the Spartans with 56 catches for 798 yards and seven scores. Coleman then transferred to Florida State for his final season and crossed the 30 percent college dominator threshold, which he narrowly missed out on in 2022. He caught 50 balls for 658 yards and 11 scores. Coleman’s basketball background is readily apparent on tape. Not much of a separator, Coleman attacks contested passes and has no problem leveraging his frame to box out weaker corners. Still, for as much of a part of his game as contested targets are, you wish he had caught more than a third of his contested looks in his final season. He made it clear that he won’t be blowing by defenders in the NFL with his 4.61 40-yard dash at the Combine. Without top-notch speed, Coleman may be stuck in a big slot role in the pros despite having the size of a prototypical X receiver. For what it’s worth, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reports Coleman was the wideout Josh Allen wanted at the end of Round 1/beginning of Round 2.

In the age of modern sports, the days of two-sport athletes are all but gone. Thirty years ago, Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders were able to light up the baseball field and football gridiron, but many famous athletes played multiple sports and were good enough to go pro. Tom Brady was drafted by the Patriots and Montreal Expos, Kyler Murray by the Cardinals and Athletics, and David Winfield was drafted to MLB, NFL, NBA, and ABA. Now, most college recruited athletes stick to one sport and focus on it with dreams to go pro -- that’s why what Keon Coleman did was rare. Coleman as a member of the MSU basketball team, got into the game for the first time this season, and in his one minute, he scored one basket. With that basket, he is the first player to score a touchdown and a basket for an AP Top-10 football & basketball in the same academic calendar season since former Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward did in 1992-93. Ward was a star QB at Florida State, winning Heisman Trophy, but chose a career in basketball as he was drafted as the 26th overall pick in 1994 and spent ten years in the NBA playing for the Knicks, Kings, and Rockets. Coleman has not seen much playing time for the Spartans in either sport as he played just four games for the football team, but he’s only a freshman and could find a niche in the upcoming years.

Coleman, also a basketball star, has stated he intends to play both basketball and football in college. “Vertical explosion from basketball and track settings translates to playmaking ability in contested situations as a pass-catcher,” wrote 247Sports national analyst Gabe Brooks. “Hands catcher whose ball skills across sports show on the gridiron. Play speed can get faster and that showed more in senior season than junior year. Height and length also prevent naturally fluid redirection, so improving short-area suddenness is another key.” The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Coleman decommitted from a previous pledge to Kansas in October.

Coleman was deciding between Oklahoma, South Carolina and the Jayhawks, and ultimately, the verbal pledge goes to Les Miles and Kansas. The Sooners were considered favorites for a while, but give Miles and his staff credit for closing strong and securing one of their top recruits in their time in Lawrence. The folks at 247Sports rank him the 14th best wideout in the entire class, and the fifth best prospect in the state of Louisiana (Opelousas High School). It would not be a shock at all if Coleman competed for snaps the minute he steps on campus in 2021.

The Fourth of July weekend will be a fun one on the recruiting front, with multiple notable prospects set to announce their pledges in the next few days, highlighted by five-star QB Caleb Williams. Coleman (6'4/185), like Williams, is set to give the word on Saturday. Oklahoma, Kansas and South Carolina are all in play for the wideout, but if the Opelousas, Louisiana, native ended up anywhere other than OU, it would be a surprise. All 11 of the current predictions for Coleman in the 247Sports Crystal Ball have him throwing in with the Sooners. On the outlet’s composite board, Coleman slots in as the No. 258 overall prospect in the 2021 class.