Keon Coleman success by route - Not pretty

[TheWei44]

1 hour ago, artmalibu said:

 

 

I guess is math was not your best subject.... lol

And I guess you are not an English professor . . . : )

[Sierra Foothills]

Below are the 40 times of some wideouts that Keon Coleman has been compared to (bigger with slower 40 times).

 

Eric Moulds N/A

Keenan Allen 4.71 (Pro Day)

Anquan Boldin 4.71

Devin Funchess 4.70

Terrell Owens 4.63

Larry Fitzgerald 4.63

Cooper Kupp 4.62

Kelvin Benjamin 4.61

Allen Robinson 4.60

Tee Higgins 4.59

Plaxico Burress 4.59

Puka Nacua 4.57

DeAndre Hopkins 4.57

Michael Thomas 4.57

Davante Adams 4.56

Courtland Sutton 4.54

Mike Williams 4.54

Gabriel Davis 4.54

Brandon Marshall 4.53

Mike Evans 4.53

James Hardy 4.53

Dez Bryant 4.52

Michael Pittman Jr. 4.52

Vincent Jackson 4.51

Kenny Golladay 4.50

 

Keon officially ran a 4.61 at the Combine BUT... his top speed of 20.36 mph in the gauntlet drill is the fastest of any WR in 3 years running... Jimmy Horn had the fastest gauntlet speed in 2025 at 19.23 mph.

 

Based on the rookie seasons of the above players, none of us can predict what kind of career Keon will have.

 

I remain hopeful and optimistic.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Sierra Foothills

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

What do you mean “let Shakir walk?” He’s under contract and was under contract last year.

 

If we didn’t extend him.  Drafting McConkey would be like replacing him. Extending b him early usually saves some money for the team. 

[RoscoeParrish]

8 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

If we didn’t extend him.  Drafting McConkey would be like replacing him. Extending b him early usually saves some money for the team. 

We signed Samuel who basically plays the same position and he didn’t replace Shakir.

 

I’m just not sure what you’re driving at.

 

I really just have two questions.

 

Is Shakir better than McConkey?

 

Is this team better in 2024/2025 with Coleman and Shakir or McConkey and Shakir?

I think those are both fair questions. I don’t think the WR position is like Highlander. There can only be one. 
 

Keep in mind, when the Bills were drafting in 2024, Shakir was a guy who had a single nice 600 yard season. He obviously replicated that NOW, but at the time, we didn’t know if it was a fluke or what he was gonna be.

[Augie]

3 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

We signed Samuel who basically plays the same position and he didn’t replace Shakir.

 

I’m just not sure what you’re driving at.

 

I really just have two questions.

 

Is Shakir better than McConkey?

 

Is this team better in 2024/2025 with Coleman and Shakir or McConkey and Shakir?

I think those are both fair questions. I don’t think the WR position is like Highlander. There can only be one. 
 

Keep in mind, when the Bills were drafting in 2024, Shakir was a guy who had a single nice 600 yard season. He obviously replicated that NOW, but at the time, we didn’t know if it was a fluke or what he was gonna be.

 

I’m not at practice every day or in the locker room. That is their job, and it turns out they were right - Shakir is pretty darn good. Everybody wants to second guess, but without having the same knowledge our FO has. 

 

We have plenty of slot candidates, and they felt they needed a different body/style of player. Will it be perfect? Probably not. Will it be good enough? Hopefully. 

 

 

[Einstein]

16 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

 I just don’t understand the idea that he can’t improve.

Because you cant fix slow as molasses. 

[Special K]

Happy 22nd Birthday today to Keon Coleman.......this thread appears to be a pretty lousy birthday present!!

[Sierra Foothills]

 

3 minutes ago, Einstein said:

Because you cant fix slow as molasses. 

 

24 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

Keon officially ran a 4.61 at the Combine BUT... his top speed of 20.36 mph in the gauntlet drill is the fastest of any WR in 3 years running... Jimmy Horn had the fastest gauntlet speed in 2025 at 19.23 mph.

 

 

It's up for debate whether Coleman is "too slow" to succeed in the NFL but you appear to be too fast as far as jumping to conclusions.

 

[RoscoeParrish]

7 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

I’m not at practice every day or in the locker room. That is their job, and it turns out they were right - Shakir is pretty darn good. Everybody wants to second guess, but without having the same knowledge our FO has. 

 

We have plenty of slot candidates, and they felt they needed a different body/style of player. Will it be perfect? Probably not. Will it be good enough? Hopefully. 

 

 

Do you not have answers to my questions but you are hoping for the best? 

[Augie]

11 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

 

It's up for debate whether Coleman is "too slow" to succeed in the NFL but you appear to be too fast as far as jumping to conclusions.

 

 

Apparently he skipped over the long list of WR’s above who had nice NFL careers with similar 40 times. I’m not saying he’ll be great, but I certainly want to see it play out before condemning the player and the front office. But some people just don’t have that patience. 

6 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

Do you not have answers to my questions but you are hoping for the best? 

 

To your original questions. 

 

1) Maybe

2) Maybe, because we invested in something else/different that needs time to develop. We have not yet seen 2024/2025 play out. Apparently I lack your psychic powers. You are welcome to your opinions, but that’s all they are. 

 

This is tiresome, so I’m done here. 

 

 

.

Edited 2 hours ago by Augie

[oldmanfan]

9 minutes ago, Einstein said:

Because you cant fix slow as molasses. 

Had the fastest gauntlet drill of anyone for the year of his combine and the previous year.  So what does that mean in terms of on the field performance?  And let’s do a little math.  A guy that runs a 4.2 covers 9.5 yards/second.  A guy that runs a 4.6 covers 8.7 yards/second.  A difference of about 2.4 feet/second. What does this really mean in terms of on the field performance?

 

Coleman was not drafted to be a speed merchant.  He was drafted to give the team a big, physical presence at WR.  What he can work on ins using strength and such to get off the line better.  He can work on route running.  And so on.  All such things can be improved upon with practice and coaching.  So you see how much he develops his second year.  The assumption he can’t improve is simplistic at best.

 

I would remind folks here that after his rookie year there was a QB who was said to be inaccurate, and that he could never improve upon that and thus his future was limited.  His name is Josh Allen.

43 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

Below are the 40 times of some wideouts that Keon Coleman has been compared to (bigger with slower 40 times).

 

Eric Moulds N/A

Keenan Allen 4.71 (Pro Day)

Anquan Boldin 4.71

Devin Funchess 4.70

Terrell Owens 4.63

Larry Fitzgerald 4.63

Cooper Kupp 4.62

Kelvin Benjamin 4.61

Allen Robinson 4.60

Tee Higgins 4.59

Plaxico Burress 4.59

Puka Nacua 4.57

DeAndre Hopkins 4.57

Michael Thomas 4.57

Davante Adams 4.56

Courtland Sutton 4.54

Mike Williams 4.54

Gabriel Davis 4.54

Brandon Marshall 4.53

Mike Evans 4.53

James Hardy 4.53

Dez Bryant 4.52

Michael Pittman Jr. 4.52

Vincent Jackson 4.51

Kenny Golladay 4.50

 

Keon officially ran a 4.61 at the Combine BUT... his top speed of 20.36 mph in the gauntlet drill is the fastest of any WR in 3 years running... Jimmy Horn had the fastest gauntlet speed in 2025 at 19.23 mph.

 

Based on the rookie seasons of the above players, none of us can predict what kind of career Keon will have.

 

I remain hopeful and optimistic.

 

All the guys on that list are bums.  Right?

[RobbRiddick]

25 minutes ago, Special K said:

Happy 22nd Birthday today to Keon Coleman.......this thread appears to be a pretty lousy birthday present!!

[947]

Keon's top speed of 19.23mph in the WR drills is great, but that's long speed. In football, acceleration is much more important than long speed or top speed, his disappointing 40 time shows a lack of initial acceleration. For a WR to get open quickly, he needs acceleration & suddenness, and that area has proven to be the weakest part of Keon's game. He does a lot of other things well, but if he can't improve on his initial acceleration, he'll continue to struggle getting open.

[RoscoeParrish]

34 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Apparently he skipped over the long list of WR’s above who had nice NFL careers with similar 40 times. I’m not saying he’ll be great, but I certainly want to see it play out before condemning the player and the front office. But some people just don’t have that patience. 

 

To your original questions. 

 

1) Maybe

2) Maybe, because we invested in something else/different that needs time to develop. We have not yet seen 2024/2025 play out. Apparently I lack your psychic powers. You are welcome to your opinions, but that’s all they are. 

 

This is tiresome, so I’m done here. 

 

 

.

I mean, we are just sharing opinions. Isn’t that all we do here?

 

I don’t know if the Bills are better off with McConkey over Coleman. Maybe they aren’t.

 

I suspect that McConkey may be a better pro than Shakir but it’s still early.
 

I personally think that would have been a tough fit for both Ladd and Shakir but I also don’t feel strongly that it wasn’t a mistake looking at Coleman vs McConkey in 2024.

 

I’m not really sure why you find this so frustrating. We are just talking about the Bills. It’s a long offseason.

[oldmanfan]

Just now, RoscoeParrish said:

I mean, we are just sharing opinions. Isn’t that all we do here?

 

I don’t know if the Bills are better off with McConkey over Coleman. Maybe they aren’t.

 

I suspect that McConkey may be a better pro than Shakir but it’s still early.
 

I personally think that would have been a tough fit for both Ladd and Shakir but I also don’t feel strongly that it wasn’t a mistake looking at Coleman vs McConkey in 2024.

 

I’m not really sure why you find this so frustrating. We are just talking about the Bills. It’s a long offseason.

Agreed.  It’s a long off-season.  Just got the heck of it I googled for articles comparing combine results and on field performance in the NFL, and the results generally show none to weak correlations for the things tested at the combine and success in the league. 

[1997WS6]

One thing I didn't see mentioned here is how Keon was used before and after the injury.  Everyone says he didn't respond well to the injury, but he wasn't used the same way.  He got hurt, and we brought in competition.  After he came back we tried to use him to run deep routes, which he isn't good at.  I didn't notice this myself, I'm just regurgitating what Joe Marino said.

[BillsDad51]

1 hour ago, MasterStrategist said:

In person

Ok

[RoscoeParrish]

2 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Agreed.  It’s a long off-season.  Just got the heck of it I googled for articles comparing combine results and on field performance in the NFL, and the results generally show none to weak correlations for the things tested at the combine and success in the league. 

The thing that worries me the most about Keon is that at the start of the 2023 CFB season, he was being talked about like a first round pick. Over the course of the year, his stock kept falling and it wasn’t because FSU was terrible. I think the pros who do this for a living did have some valid concerns about his ability to separate at the NFL level. 

Despite that, he had a much better rookie year than I thought he would. He wouldn’t be the first WR to just be “okay” as a rookie and then explode on the scene. He also wouldn’t be the first that has an okay rookie year and just stays there because of a limited skillset.

 

Our own Josh Palmer had a decent rookie and second season and that’s just kind of who he was.

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

I wonder if this is what coaches mean when they say "you can't coach speed"

[JohnNord]

18 hours ago, DJB said:

And for reference here is Ladd who many of us vouched for 

 

 

Coleman needs to step up or Beane massively screwed this one up 

This is why I am very hesitant to expect a significant improvement for last season from Coleman.  I do think he can improve but I’m

not sure if it’s going to be the big step forward some fans…and possibly Brandon Beane are counting on.