Keon Coleman success by route - Not pretty

[SoonerBillsFan]

40 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Also the role.  Single wr and run heavy formation Coleman will be on the field.  He became a beast taking that role from MVS.   I think Coleman will have a Marqise Colston or Micheal Thomas type impact and season.  Slants from the X and attack the seems from the slot.  Coleman was top 5 in the NFL in yards after catch over expectations.  For his size he is great after the catch. Him playing 215-220 isnt much but imo noticeable.  At the end of the year I think Coleman emerges more so than Kincaid. 

I hope so.

[GunnerBill]

41 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Also the role.  Single wr and run heavy formation Coleman will be on the field.  He became a beast taking that role from MVS.   I think Coleman will have a Marqise Colston or Micheal Thomas type impact and season.  Slants from the X and attack the seems from the slot.  Coleman was top 5 in the NFL in yards after catch over expectations.  For his size he is great after the catch. Him playing 215-220 isnt much but imo noticeable.  At the end of the year I think Coleman emerges more so than Kincaid. 

 

You are right about the ways Coleman's skillset are best applied in the NFL. I said this as long ago as February 2024. Way before he was a Bill. Can he be Michael Thomas? I have my doubts on that. Three reasons:

 

Reason 1 - Thomas's understanding of leverage and route pacing was way in advance of what we have seen so far from Keon, he can develop it but right now that gap is still significant;

 

Reason 2 - Josh Allen ain't Drew Brees who probably threw the slant and the slot seam better than any other QB I have seen in my 25 years watching the sport. There is obviously a ton Josh does better than Drew, but those two routes and the Saints success with Big Slots - from Colston to Graham to Thomas - was as much about the Quarterback as it was about the receivers; and

 

Reason 3 - the Bills have a logjam in the slot. The only receiver on their roster I would say is outside first, slot second is Josh Palmer. I think Keon should be a big slot first, outside guy in certain packages but to get snaps in the slot the queue includes Khalil Shakir (the Bills didn't just pay him to play him less) Dalton Kincaid, a former first round pick who they have to take a big decision on next spring, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and even Dawson Knox and James Cook in certain looks. I just don't think he will get sufficient opportunity to break out there to the maximum. 

 

If Keon can get to 800 yards and double his touchdown production to 8 by being a redzone weapon that will be a really solid year. Anything more would be above my expectations. 

[Mat68]

22 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

You are right about the ways Coleman's skillset are best applied in the NFL. I said this as long ago as February 2024. Way before he was a Bill. Can he be Michael Thomas? I have my doubts on that. Three reasons:

 

Reason 1 - Thomas's understanding of leverage and route pacing was way in advance of what we have seen so far from Keon, he can develop it but right now that gap is still significant;

 

Reason 2 - Josh Allen ain't Drew Brees who probably threw the slant and the slot seam better than any other QB I have seen in my 25 years watching the sport. There is obviously a ton Josh does better than Drew, but those two routes and the Saints success with Big Slots - from Colston to Graham to Thomas - was as much about the Quarterback as it was about the receivers; and

 

Reason 3 - the Bills have a logjam in the slot. The only receiver on their roster I would say is outside first, slot second is Josh Palmer. I think Keon should be a big slot first, outside guy in certain packages but to get snaps in the slot the queue includes Khalil Shakir (the Bills didn't just pay him to play him less) Dalton Kincaid, a former first round pick who they have to take a big decision on next spring, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and even Dawson Knox and James Cook in certain looks. I just don't think he will get sufficient opportunity to break out there to the maximum. 

 

If Keon can get to 800 yards and double his touchdown production to 8 by being a redzone weapon that will be a really solid year. Anything more would be above my expectations. 

You’re not wrong.  Imo opportunity comes in Pa.  Early down run sets when Coleman was the singular wr the passing game was effective.  Buffalo was near the bottom in the NFL in PA rate.  If Coleman can take over that Hollins role those early downs Coleman needs to be a mfer as a run blocker.  If that happens the PA unlocks on early downs.  Coleman in playaction puts him naturally in those condensed sets where Shakir is likely the z.  Many times late in the year it was Shakir and Hollins early run duo.  Coleman instead of Hollins makes passing more enticing.    

[SoonerBillsFan]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

You are right about the ways Coleman's skillset are best applied in the NFL. I said this as long ago as February 2024. Way before he was a Bill. Can he be Michael Thomas? I have my doubts on that. Three reasons:

 

Reason 1 - Thomas's understanding of leverage and route pacing was way in advance of what we have seen so far from Keon, he can develop it but right now that gap is still significant;

 

Reason 2 - Josh Allen ain't Drew Brees who probably threw the slant and the slot seam better than any other QB I have seen in my 25 years watching the sport. There is obviously a ton Josh does better than Drew, but those two routes and the Saints success with Big Slots - from Colston to Graham to Thomas - was as much about the Quarterback as it was about the receivers; and

 

Reason 3 - the Bills have a logjam in the slot. The only receiver on their roster I would say is outside first, slot second is Josh Palmer. I think Keon should be a big slot first, outside guy in certain packages but to get snaps in the slot the queue includes Khalil Shakir (the Bills didn't just pay him to play him less) Dalton Kincaid, a former first round pick who they have to take a big decision on next spring, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and even Dawson Knox and James Cook in certain looks. I just don't think he will get sufficient opportunity to break out there to the maximum. 

 

If Keon can get to 800 yards and double his touchdown production to 8 by being a redzone weapon that will be a really solid year. Anything more would be above my expectations. 

1) can be learned.

 

2) Allen still has a lot of improvement to make, you point out a couple things.  And yeah MVP blah blah blah.  He still has holes in his game to shore up.

 

3) I said iy last year,McBeane have both eluded to it, this offense doesn't have traditional X,Y,Etc.  All WR are to be able to play all positions.  This is why Allen was MVP and cut down on interceptions last year.  We aren't forcing it to a specific WR.

 

That said, We need to scheme some guys open more, I hope our OC improves on that and in game adjustments 

[GunnerBill]

45 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

1) can be learned.

 

2) Allen still has a lot of improvement to make, you point out a couple things.  And yeah MVP blah blah blah.  He still has holes in his game to shore up.

 

3) I said iy last year,McBeane have both eluded to it, this offense doesn't have traditional X,Y,Etc.  All WR are to be able to play all positions.  This is why Allen was MVP and cut down on interceptions last year.  We aren't forcing it to a specific WR.

 

That said, We need to scheme some guys open more, I hope our OC improves on that and in game adjustments 

 

On 1 it can be learned although there is definitely an instinctual element to it. Some guys just have that natural feel for leverage and pacing more than others. Agree on 2. On 3 and the whole point with that is it doesn't matter until it does. And when it does it matters a lot. Because when you need to win outside then you end up with a guy out there better suited to the slot. 

[LEBills]

26 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

On 1 it can be learned although there is definitely an instinctual element to it. Some guys just have that natural feel for leverage and pacing more than others. Agree on 2. On 3 and the whole point with that is it doesn't matter until it does. And when it does it matters a lot. Because when you need to win outside then you end up with a guy out there better suited to the slot. 

I think Keon is probably our best X at the moment. Though I am not a big fan of Palmer and so am a bit biased. He would definitely be better in the slot I agree, but right now I think he is just going to be a very streaky player for the Bills out wide.
Like a springier Gabe Davis.

 

Maybe one day we will have enough outside talent to let him play inside and off the line more. 

[BUFFALOBART]

Personally, I thought that Coleman was having a great Rookie campaign, until the Poyer cheap shot. A scared Coleman, wimped through the rest of the season. …Trent Edwards comes to mind…

[SoonerBillsFan]

11 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Personally, I thought that Coleman was having a great Rookie campaign, until the Poyer cheap shot. A scared Coleman, wimped through the rest of the season. …Trent Edwards comes to mind…

He has to get mentally tougher

[GunnerBill]

6 hours ago, LEBills said:

I think Keon is probably our best X at the moment. Though I am not a big fan of Palmer and so am a bit biased. He would definitely be better in the slot I agree, but right now I think he is just going to be a very streaky player for the Bills out wide.
Like a springier Gabe Davis.

 

Maybe one day we will have enough outside talent to let him play inside and off the line more. 

 

Whether he is our best X... possibly. I think Palmer is more of a natural Z. There probably isn't a ton between them. But the Bills are going to start Keon as their X receiver. No doubt about that for me. They are going to try and force it to work for at least one more season. 

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Whether he is our best X... possibly. I think Palmer is more of a natural Z. There probably isn't a ton between them. But the Bills are going to start Keon as their X receiver. No doubt about that for me. They are going to try and force it to work for at least one more season. 

 

Keon has the most potential/upside on the current roster at the X, but based on where he is right now, he is probably best suited to play out of the Z.  Watching him in LA, Palmer can play both, but the Z is what best suits his game.  So Keon 100% is going to be given every opportunity to try and demonstrate that on the current roster he is the best option at the X this year.  That being said, I also wouldn't be surprised to see them rotate Palmer and Keon some this year between the two either, especially if Keon isn't taking enough of a step forward at the X.  

 

 

[GunnerBill]

13 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Keon has the most potential/upside on the current roster at the X, but based on where he is right now, he is probably best suited to play out of the Z.  Watching him in LA, Palmer can play both, but the Z is what best suits his game.  So Keon 100% is going to be given every opportunity to try and demonstrate that on the current roster he is the best option at the X this year.  That being said, I also wouldn't be surprised to see them rotate Palmer and Keon some this year between the two either, especially if Keon isn't taking enough of a step forward at the X.  

 

 

 

I agree with all this except I still think Keon is best suited as a big slot rather than as a Z receiver. I maintain if he ever ends up putting up really big numbers in the NFL it will be playing at least half of his snaps inside. 

 

I also think the fact he has the most upside of anyone on the current roster at X is a bit of an indictment on the Bills outside receiver options, but that has been done to death elsewhere. 

Edited 14 hours ago by GunnerBill

[Alphadawg7]

15 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I agree with all this except I still think Keon is best suited as a big slot rather than as a Z receiver. I maintain if he ever ends up putting up really big numbers in the NFL it will be playing at least half of his snaps inside. 

 

I also think the fact he has the most upside of anyone on the current roster at X is a bit of an indictment on the Bills outside receiver options, but that has been done to death elsewhere. 

 

On a positive note...I will say this...the notes coming out on Keon so far this offseason are very encouraging so far and raising the level of excitement and optimism around Keon IMHO.  Earlier this offseason Josh was speaking publicly about how Keon has been in his ear all off season about how he can get better and be better for Josh.  Then he shows up with 10 more pounds of muscle and reportedly looking faster than ever in his cuts and just faster overall.  

 

It's way too early to put too much stock into anything, good or bad, especially before pads go on.  But we are at least hearing the things we want to hear about him thus far.  But the one thing I maintained heading into the offseason is that Keon wants it...he wants to be great.  And that for me is what I want to see in the young guys, that drive, commitment, extra gear to really push themselves in the offseason to come back and be a better version of themselves.  And he has a lot of guys on this team that know what thats like and put that work in during their own careers, including his MVP QB and fellow WR Shakir more recently.  

[uticaclub]

10 hours ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Personally, I thought that Coleman was having a great Rookie campaign, until the Poyer cheap shot. A scared Coleman, wimped through the rest of the season. …Trent Edwards comes to mind…

That wasn't a cheap shot & if that hit derails his career, he was never meant for the NFL

Edited 12 hours ago by uticaclub

[BUFFALOBART]

13 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

He has to get mentally tougher

Yup. Trent Edwards, comes to mind.

[Captain Hindsight]

11 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Yup. Trent Edwards, comes to mind.

Trent was never good, even before that hit 

[Jalan81]

On 5/26/2025 at 8:56 AM, Dr. Who said:

Both sides of the ball failed, ultimately, as did coaching. Everyone needs to be better. The D needed more players, but WR is still an issue. 

No argument here. We’ll see if wide receiver has changed at all. I’m still confused at how little Cooper added, it was like Brady used him as a decoy more than a strength. Is he washed or just another player we couldn’t take advantage of their skill set? The fact we didn’t attempt to resign him makes it look like we think he was washed or didn’t want to be here. Sad part is McDermott has been here too long to still not have it all put together in my mind. 

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Trent was never good, even before that hit 

 

Thank you!

 

The myth of Trent Edwards is wild to me.  I remember that season when we started 4-0 and I started a thread stating if he doesn't play better we would miss the playoffs.  I got flamed left and right because we were "4-0" - albeit we had just beat 4 of the worst teams in the NFL.  Trent had 1 TD in each game...our Def/ST combined for more TD's over that 4 game span than Trent had himself.  And we barely beat 2 of those really bad teams that year.  

 

He wasn't good, all he did was just not make mistakes while we beat the bottom feeding teams and let our defense/ST help carry us to wins.  Soon as our defense and ST stopped scoring TD's we couldn't win a game with the president of Dakota Fannings fan club at the helm.  

 

He was never good.  He showed some potential as a rookie, then created false hope when he wasn't doing a whole lot in a hot 4-0 start against bad teams where our D and ST were scoring an unsustainable amount of times, and then just went on to never improve from what he had been.  

 

And the injury myth still persists to this day for some as the reason he stunk

[SoTier]

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Thank you!

 

The myth of Trent Edwards is wild to me.  I remember that season when we started 4-0 and I started a thread stating if he doesn't play better we would miss the playoffs.  I got flamed left and right because we were "4-0" - albeit we had just beat 4 of the worst teams in the NFL.  Trent had 1 TD in each game...our Def/ST combined for more TD's over that 4 game span than Trent had himself.  And we barely beat 2 of those really bad teams that year.  

 

He wasn't good, all he did was just not make mistakes while we beat the bottom feeding teams and let our defense/ST help carry us to wins.  Soon as our defense and ST stopped scoring TD's we couldn't win a game with the president of Dakota Fannings fan club at the helm.  

 

He was never good.  He showed some potential as a rookie, then created false hope when he wasn't doing a whole lot in a hot 4-0 start against bad teams where our D and ST were scoring an unsustainable amount of times, and then just went on to never improve from what he had been.  

 

And the injury myth still persists to this day for some as the reason he stunk

 

"Captain Checkdown" never learned to read defenses ... which is why he earned that nickname.  He was the perfect QB for Dick Jauron (who believed in playing not to lose games by too much) because Edwards was good with throwing a 4 yard pass on third and 5 and then punting.  Jauron disliked Losman because he (Losman) tried too hard to make plays and win -- IOW, he took risks, which Jauron hated. 

[Alphadawg7]

10 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

"Captain Checkdown" never learned to read defenses ... which is why he earned that nickname.  He was the perfect QB for Dick Jauron (who believed in playing not to lose games by too much) because Edwards was good with throwing a 4 yard pass on third and 5 and then punting.  Jauron disliked Losman because he (Losman) tried too hard to make plays and win -- IOW, he took risks, which Jauron hated. 

 

The worst play I have ever personally witnessed was watching Trent run out of bounds on 4th down on our final drive of the game instead of trying to make a play happen.  Most pathetic, gutless, unacceptable play I have ever seen live in a game.  She should have been benched or cut before he hit the showers.  

[Yard Monkey]

28 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

The worst play I have ever personally witnessed was watching Trent run out of bounds on 4th down on our final drive of the game instead of trying to make a play happen.  Most pathetic, gutless, unacceptable play I have ever seen live in a game.  She should have been benched or cut before he hit the showers.  

Yes, pathetic. If you are referring to the Packers game, it was his last play as a Bill thankfully. Chan Gailey was furious on the sideline. All of the receivers ran vertical routes and he didn’t throw it. 
 

“Trent Edwards' infamous 4th and 11 play happened during his final game as a Buffalo Bill on September 19, 2010, against the Green Bay Packers. Instead of attempting a pass, he ran out of bounds after gaining only 6 yards, sealing Buffalo's fate in a 34-7 loss.

It was a frustrating moment for Bills fans, and just eight days later, Edwards was released by the team.”