The Buffalo Bills selected wide receiver Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick (second-round selection) in the 2024 NFL Draft from the Florida State Seminoles. Coleman was a good pick for Buffalo because they traded away wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans this offseason.
The Bills will have an interesting receiving core this season. Khalil Shakir is tearing it up in training camp and will be one of the starting wide receivers this season. Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel will also be the other starting wide receivers for Buffalo.
Coleman was a junior last season for the Florida State Seminoles. In 12 games, he caught 50 passes for 658 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns, along with averaging 13.2 yards per catch. Keon Coleman could turn into the number one receiving option for the Buffalo Bills this season in fantasy considering the fact Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis are no longer on the team.
Pro Football Focus Analyst Makes Fantasy Football Prediction For Buffalo Bills Rookie Wide Receiver Keon Coleman
Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus made a fantasy football profile for the stud rookie receiver on the Bills. Jahnke said about him when it comes to competing for touches this season:
“The Bills have gone through a complete makeover of their wide receiver room. Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty — four of the team’s top five wide receivers in 2023 — are all off the roster.
Khalil Shakir is the primary player returning. Along with Coleman, Buffalo brought in Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mack Hollins and Chase Claypool. Shakir and Samuel are more likely to play Z receiver and in the slot in three-receiver sets. While Coleman will compete with both for targets, he probably won’t be competing with them for playing time.
Coleman’s competition is Hollins and Valdes-Scantling. Hollins and Valdes-Scantling have high average depths of targets and low target shares because they aren’t great at separation. They add value to the offense because they can help clear out safeties, but they aren’t going to have much fantasy value.
Most of Coleman’s playing time will likely be determined by how quickly he can develop. There’s a path to him playing more than 90% of offensive snaps if he masters the playbook and gains Josh Allen’s trust. If that takes some time, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him rotating with at least one of those two wide receivers early in the season.
This is taking Davis’ role in the offense, and Davis didn’t have that high of a target share. The offensive philosophy may change with Coleman, but it’s also possible Coleman will have a low target share yet flash with some big plays.”
It is very possible that the Bills do not have a single receiver who goes for over 1,000 yards receiving this season. It will be interesting to see how quarterback Josh Allen spreads out his targets this season. Dalton Knicad and Dawson Knox, the tight ends in this offense will also be heavily involved in the passing game.
Running back James Cook will also be catching passes out of the backfield this season for Buffalo. Pro Football Focus also added:
“Coleman is a very risky fantasy prospect with huge rewards. If everything goes right, he is Josh Allen’s favorite target. In the past, Allen’s favorite target was a consistent top-10 fantasy wide receiver. A lot needs to go right for that to happen, with the most likely scenario being that he has some excellent weeks and other quiet ones. His ADP is WR46, so anyone drafting him isn’t necessarily relying on him to be in fantasy starting lineups immediately.”
It will be interesting to see how Keon Coleman gets targeted early on in the season. There is a chance he could get off to a slow start and get hot toward the end of the year. Coleman could be a hot waiver wire pickup player by the middle of the fantasy football season. There is a chance he could have somewhere like 70 catches for 885 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns.
