Bust or Breakout: Can Keon Coleman make an "Eric Moulds" style great leap forward

[Turf Toejam 34]

It has often occurred to me that Coleman's only way to success in the NFL would be to bulk up and convert to a TE.    I don't think he has the fortitude to try and make this change.   So, he will be out of the league in three years.   

[Brandon]

Maybe,  but I think it's at least as likely that at this point,  this is just who he is.  He can improve his technique understanding of his responsibilities in this offense,  but he does not have the huge advantage in athleticism that Eric Moulds had.  That's easier to overcome at some positions than others,  but WR isn't one of them.  

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

He’ll stick on the roster, because purging him would be an admission of a colossal screw up by Beane ( and Allen, because it was widely reported that Keon was the guy Allen wanted), won’t get a second contract, will go to a second team where he will fade quickly into obscurity. Glad he bought all the puffy yellow coats he wanted before the NFL checks are gone. 

[Pete]

2 hours ago, EssexBill said:

Keon wasn’t a first rounder either 

He was the first pick in the 2nd round.  That’s one of the biggest spots to trade back.  Every team resets their draft board after round one.  Each team grades players different, and almost always someone is available that had a 1st round grade, or is head and above all other prospects.

 

Im certain Beane turned down many trade offers, to select Keon.  I hated the Keon pick on draft day.  I hated we didn’t go BPA(Cooper DeJean), and in certain Beane turned down some great trades.

[NoName]

7 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

No, he was a 4.5 guy. I remember obsessing over the Pre-Draft stuff on him and Marvin Harrison in 1996, knowing one of them was likely to be ours.

 

He made the most of his 4.5 and was a guy that looked quicker than his timed speed, especially when he'd get in the open field. Unlike Coleman who somehow looks slower than his 4.61.

I can recall Marv Levy talking about him running a 4.4.  Additionally, he dang sure played like a 4.4 guy.  On a seperate note, the way Moulds attacked that ball in the air?  That guy was nasty when it came to snatching the ball. He played with a mean streak. With consistent qb play there is zero doubt he would be wearing one of those gold jackets.  
 

I will say that Coleman is definitely a better leaper than Moulds.  Comparing some of the leaping tds in the end zone, I feel that Coleman was more effective and wasn’t necessarily a strength for Moulds..

 

I met Keon in person and had a conversation with him and found him to be a real good person.  And the funny thing about it is he approached me to start a conversation with me with plenty of other Bills fans around. I really hope he turns it around in year 3 like so many others (including Moulds) did and I have faith that he will.

Edited 3 hours ago by NoName

[SCBills]

Keon is reportedly one of the most raw WR’s to come out of the draft with his late intro to the position and how he was used as MSU & FSU. 

 

But I don’t know.. he looks slow and weak.  And I can be ok with the slow part if he could win contested catches or didn’t get tackled like he weighs 120 pounds, but i don’t see one thing he does well… or even looks like he has potential to do well. 
 

I’ll try to remember that he made some plays before the wrist injury last year, but man.. he looks like the weakest, slowest, pretty much most useless WR I’ve ever watched. 
 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by SCBills

[Pete]

13 hours ago, ChicagoRic said:

Hindsight is a hell of a thing.  For his first 2 seasons, Moulds was quite the whipping boy on this board back in the day.

 

A few scouting reports:

 

"Fantastic athletic-ability. Deep threat. Tough and will go over the middle. Aggressive performer with decent hands. Great runner after the catch. Needs to improve concentration and routes. “Me first”-type player. Moulds has much better size and potential than Glenn and Harrison, but he is inconsistent and immature. 1st-2nd rounder."

 

"Upside: Big receiver (6-2+), very good athlete for his size, huge vertical and big catch radius, collegiate production showing big-play ability.
Risk: Character/attitude concerns, perhaps not fully polished in technique/route-running, not seen as “complete” receiver at the time, more “high ceiling” than immediate starter."

Scouting reports were  completely wrong.  I wish Josh got to play with Moulds

[Rousseauisnoschmo]

13 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Oh good, a Keon Coleman thread. In all seriousness, not much to discuss, he sucks. It’s been debated on here for a year and a half. The Keon truthers have finally gone silent.
 

He’s not even really a bust. He was like the 8th or 9th WR picked and he was way overdrafted. Keon was an extremely flawed prospect that hasn’t overcome those major holes in his game. 

Hindsight rules!

[Dr. Who]

Just now, Rousseauisnoschmo said:

Hindsight rules!

Many folks did not like the Coleman pick at the time. His flaws were known and pointed out. His struggles are not a surprise.

[Kirby Jackson]

4 minutes ago, Rousseauisnoschmo said:

Hindsight rules!

“Hindsight” 🤣

 

[FireChans]

Just now, Kirby Jackson said:

“Hindsight” 🤣

 

Shocked pikachu face when the latest Kelvin Benjamin/Devin Funchess/Devante Parker clone doesn’t have sustained success at the NFL level.

 

talking about converting to TE means we are right on schedule. 

[Rousseauisnoschmo]

Just now, Kirby Jackson said:

“Hindsight” 🤣

 

Wow. You really showed me. I'll go curl up in a ball now and cry myself to sleep.

[harmonkillebrew]

13 hours ago, ChicagoRic said:

Hindsight is a hell of a thing.  For his first 2 seasons, Moulds was quite the whipping boy on this board back in the day.

 

A few scouting reports:

 

"Fantastic athletic-ability. Deep threat. Tough and will go over the middle. Aggressive performer with decent hands. Great runner after the catch. Needs to improve concentration and routes. “Me first”-type player. Moulds has much better size and potential than Glenn and Harrison, but he is inconsistent and immature. 1st-2nd rounder."

 

"Upside: Big receiver (6-2+), very good athlete for his size, huge vertical and big catch radius, collegiate production showing big-play ability.
Risk: Character/attitude concerns, perhaps not fully polished in technique/route-running, not seen as “complete” receiver at the time, more “high ceiling” than immediate starter."

I hadn't seen the character concerns scouting report, but I remember at his first press conference all the reporters thought he was hilarious, but I just saw an immature kid. That's played out, unfortunately, in addition to his talent gaps. Not sure who at OBD is scouting these first rounders, but time to fire them and let the 4th round scouts take over 

[Kirby Jackson]

10 minutes ago, Rousseauisnoschmo said:

Wow. You really showed me. I'll go curl up in a ball now and cry myself to sleep.

What? Just saying, if you think there’s “hindsight” to most of these thoughts, use the search function. You can go back a long time and find lots, and lots, and lots of posts on the topic from MANY posters. No one is looking back with hindsight like, “I’m really surprised this Keon Coleman thing hasn’t gone well.” 🤣🤣

[Rousseauisnoschmo]

14 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

Many folks did not like the Coleman pick at the time. His flaws were known and pointed out. His struggles are not a surprise.

I didn't like the pick either but he did flash at times last year so it gave me some semblance of hope. One and a half seasons is to early to declare this guy a bust. If he still looks like dog doo doo after year three then its probably not likely to happen. Sounds like he's got some growing up to do. Hopefully there's something there and this crap season motivates him on to bigger and better things. I'm not ready to give up on the guy just yet.

 

[NoSaint]

1 hour ago, finn said:

Or Anquan Boldin. Although both he and Ward were considerably shorter, both were a lot less physical than Coleman. As others have said, he's big but plays small. Doesn't box out or sky for the jump ball consistently, hands not great, slow. Sure doesn't bring much for someone who gets more snaps than any other skill player. Can he develop? It's looking more dubious as time goes on. I think the best hope is the problems are in his head. Compare his FSU tape to his NFL tape; it's like two different players. (I've only seen his college highlights, though.) 

 

For example, on several comeback routes on the sideline, Allen throws a perfect ball with perfect timing to his outside shoulder, where only he can get the ball. Diggs thrived on those. Impossible to defend, even with such a slow receiver. Yet Coleman allowed the DB to make a play. That seems fixable. I mean, the guy is big. Allen could also throw way over his head sometimes, which I haven't seen. Coleman seems to love those climb the ladder balls. 

 

So maybe there's hope. 

the problem is you are comparing a highlight reel in college to what you see snap in and snap out

 

you could assemble a few fun highlights here too. 

[Nihilarian]

Not every player enters the NFL and becomes a star right away, and sometimes it can take years. Just look at guys like Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and now even Mac Jones. I know those are QBs but I can't think of a WR who took a long time to develop.

 

Most of Coleman's dis-likers need to realize that our beloved QB was heavily involved in that draft process and he was one guy Allen really wanted. It's probably a big reason as to why Allen has targeted him so often in the pass game. Also, everyone needs to understand that Allen targets the guys he trusts the most to make the catch. As of this past game it is Shakir 49 targets, Coleman 41 targets, Kincaid 33 targets, Palmer 20 targets. 

 

"Coleman relayed after being drafted that Allen texted him, "You're the guy that I wanted." Bills general manager Brandon Beane expanded on Allen's input into the process that led to drafting Coleman during a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio."

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/bills-gm-brandon-beane-josh-allen-pretty-pumped-we-drafted-wr-keon-coleman

[The Jokeman]

4 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

We should have sold out to get one of the big 3 (or even Thomas) because we needed a number 1. With all due respect, counting gross stats doesn’t tell me much of a story because there are so many variables that determine success. Who is your QB? What is your scheme? Who is the play caller? How many different ways can you help a team? What is asked of you? Where are you on the depth chart?  Etc, etc, etc.. There is way too much information out there in 2025 to count yards/receptions/tds. That doesn’t tell you the story. That tells you how about their opportunity. We need to dig a little deeper and compare success within that opportunity. 

 

We didn’t have the luxury of taking an extremely flawed prospect and HOPING that he would defy his metrics. That was a bad plan. You needed more of a sure thing because that guy had to contribute. You couldn’t take on so much downside.

 

Worthy would have 100% been a better pick. He wouldn’t be perfect but is a better player than Keon. I liked AD Mitchell, Legette and others above him too. He was WR 15 for me I think. I certainly liked McConkey above him because he was extremely safe. He was a guy that was going to eat targets because of his ability to get open and produce in the SEC. They vacated a zillion targets with Gabe and Diggs leaving. They didn’t replace that in FA so they didn’t have the luxury of drafting a long shot prospect with major red flags. Keon “the idea” is as bad as Keon “the player.” 
 

This isn’t hindsight. This is well documented on here leading up to the 2024 draft. 

I went into that draft wanting BTJ or Legette or Mitchell. So I understand your stance. But again if look at his production relative to those drafted around the same taken around he's produced at about the same level. The only exception is McConkey but as other have referenced he's a slot and as I've said in other Coleman topics we weren't in need of a slot at the time. I get people are upset he hasn't become the alpha number 1 we needed but to me all things considered he is as good as his draft colleagues. I use gross stat comparison because I don't have the time to watch the other guys week in and week out to see how they impacting games. Yet will say in games we've played against Worthy and Legette this season. Their play to me was as memorable as Keon's has been which I agree sub par. Yet I'm not one to lament as in spite as bad Keon's personal play has been we are still a top 5 NFL offense. I don't know what more people can expect or feel a top end WR would give us because in this offense we don't require a top end guy. 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

11 hours ago, DapperCam said:

Moulds was way faster, just as physical and actually knew how to play WR. He just didn't get as many snaps and had some drop issues. Coleman doesn't get any separation.

players don’t usually get drafted in the 1st round unless they have raw talent. i’m not sure people understand when i say RAW talent. Talent that hasn’t been put together and harnessed. That’s Keon. There’s more that goes into athletics than 40 times 

[oldmanfan]

He can get better but I don’t think he can get to Moulds’ level.  He is still kind of immature based on some interviews, but there are also reports that he worked his butt off in the off-season.  His growth will require him to work on gaining better release from the line, but also in Brady using him in the correct manner.  I don’t think the only way to use him is on sideline back shoulder routes.  I’d love to have someone like Andre or Stevie Johnson come in as a sort of mentor.
 

The other thing we overlook is that he’s pretty effective blocking.