Bills Get Good News on Young WR After Shaky Season

Keon Coleman Could Make ‘Major Leap’

NFL.com writer and former Bills player Bucky Brooks shared an optimistic outlook for Coleman, putting him on the “All Breakout Team” for the 2025 season. Brooks noted that Coleman should be able to leverage his physical tools to become a bigger part of the Bills’ offense.

“Josh Allen’s handpicked WR1 looks poised to make a major leap in his second season,” Brooks wrote. “Coleman’s superior size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and superb ball skills should help him take advantage of favorable matchups in the red zone.”

Brooks also believes Coleman could benefit from the team’s other rising star, Khalil Shakir, who could garner increased attention from opposing defenses and create openings for Coleman to shine.

“The sophomore should also see his numbers explode with Allen throwing the ball his way to exploit the coverage tilted in Khalil Shakir’s direction following Shakir’s own breakout campaign in 2024,” Brooks wrote. “As opponents attempt to neutralize the reigning MVP and the NFL’s most potent offense with various coverages designed to eliminate the deep ball, Coleman could shine as the cheat code on the perimeter.”

Keon Coleman Not Happy With His Rookie Season

Coleman ended the season as one of the most productive pass-catchers for the Bills in 2024, making 29 catches for 556 yards and four touchdowns despite missing five games with an injured hand. But Coleman wasn’t happy with his output, saying at the team’s minicamp that he believes he could have performed better.

“You want to know exactly what I see [when watching film]? I see trash,” he said. “[I] got to be better, simple as that.”

Coleman added that he had gotten some good feedback from his coaches on how he can better attack opposing defenses and has been putting in a lot of work this offseason.

That is likely good news to Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who acknowledged at practices earlier this spring that the team was disappointed with how Coleman finished out the season.

“I thought he got off to a start that he built momentum through, and then he got injured, and then from there on, it was rather rocky,” McDermott said.

“We’re looking for him to learn from those moments of adversity, and come back and have a really, really, really strong offseason and get himself going into the start of season two,” McDermott added. “And that takes a certain type of person with a certain drive and determination and fire in their heart, and it’s going to be Keon’s turn to show that he has that this offseason.”