Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen on rookie Keon Coleman: ‘What we needed in our offense’

While the Buffalo Bills brought in several players to replace outgoing wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, rookie Keon Coleman — who Buffalo traded back twice to ultimately select with the No. 33 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — is arguably their most crucial pickup, given his youth.

The player that Coleman will be catching passes from, Josh Allen, has high praise for the rookie receiver.

“I think his play style [is] what we needed in our offense,” Allen said on Thursday’s edition of NFL Network’s “The Insiders.” “Talking with our offensive coordinator [Joe Brady], our quarterbacks coach [Ronald Curry], [general manager] Brandon Beane and, obviously, coach [Sean] McDermott, a guy that’s a big-bodied guy and can go win on a back-shoulder fade and not afraid to be a physical wide receiver.

“I think you pair him with some of the guys we have in our room right now. I think Mack Hollins has been such a great addition so far to that room with his mentality, his mindset is infectious to others. Curtis Samuel, he’s been showing up every single day ready to work. … You start pairing those guys up with Dawson [Knox] and Coleman in this mix now, we’re gonna have a pretty solid group that works together.”

Coleman totaled 50 receptions for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns (13.2 yards per reception) at Florida State in 2023. He spent the previous two seasons (2021-22) at Michigan State.

Hollins, Samuel, Chase Claypool and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are among the other receivers that Buffalo added this offseason.

Hollins is a year removed from totaling a career-high 57 receptions for 690 yards and four touchdowns; Samuel has totaled 62-plus receptions for 600-plus yards and four touchdowns in each of the past two seasons; Claypool was a former second-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers and racked up nine receiving touchdowns in his 2020 rookie campaign; Valdes-Scantling just won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Buffalo’s leading receiver among those still present from last season, Khalil Shakir, emerged down the stretch, finishing with 39 receptions for 611 yards and two touchdowns. Elsewhere, rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid reeled in 73 receptions, while running back James Cook tallied 44 receptions for 445 yards and four touchdowns, concurrently rushing for 1,122 yards on 4.7 yards per carry.

Buffalo averaged 244.4 passing yards per game last season, good for eighth in the NFL. The Bills are coming off their fourth consecutive AFC East division title, but were eliminated in the AFC divisional round for the third consecutive season.

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