Wide receiver Keon Coleman had a strong start to his rookie season, racking up 22 receptions for 417 yards and three touchdowns through the first nine games of the season.
Then the injury hit. Coleman suffered a wrist injury in a win over the Miami Dolphins, missing the next five weeks and struggling to reach his previous level of production when he returned. The Bills called out Coleman’s lack of production after their season came to an end, and now one NFL insider is issuing a warning for the 2025 season.
Keon Coleman Needs to Show Improvement in 2025
ESPN’s Seth Walder broke down the biggest X-factors for the Bills heading into the next season, noting that both Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid need to show improvement. Both fell below expectations in 2024, threatening to upend the team’s “everybody eats” approach that requires strong contributions from a wide group of pass-catchers.
Walder wrote that the Bills could face a major “weakness” in their passing game if Coleman fails to improve.
“The Bills need at least one of the two to take a big step forward,” Walder wrote. “If they do, GM Brandon Beane will look plenty justified not investing more in another pass catcher. More importantly, that would give Allen another real playmaker to throw to besides Khalil Shakir. (I’m not much of a believer in former Chargers receiver Joshua Palmer.) If neither breaks out, then Buffalo has a pass-catching weakness.”
Bills Looking for Keon Coleman to Improve
The Bills have already made it clear that they expect improvement from Coleman in his second NFL season. After the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, head coach Sean McDermott took note of the rookie receiver’s dropoff after his injury.
âI thought he got off to a start that he built momentum through, and then he got injured, and then from there on, it was rather rocky,â McDermott said.
McDermott then offered a mix of encouragement and prodding, saying he expected Coleman to learn from the experiences and come back stronger in 2025.
âWeâre looking for him to learn from those moments of adversity, and come back and have a really, really, really strong offseason and get himself going into the start of season two,â McDermott said. âAnd that takes a certain type of person with a certain drive and determination and fire in their heart, and itâs going to be Keonâs turn to show that he has that this offseason.â
Coleman finished out the season with seven receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown over the final four games, then largely disappeared in the playoffs as he made just three receptions for 22 yards in three games.
Kincaid is facing some pressure as well. The first-round pick took a step back in 2024, making 44 receptions for 448 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games. He also struggled in some big spots, dropping a fourth-down heave from Josh Allen in the AFC Championship game that would have extended the team’s final drive.
McDermott said the tight end needs to improve his strength and durability from injury.
âSo, the most important thing that we need to do, and we need to help him with, and he needs to do as well, and taking the lead on this is getting stronger and more durable for us to be out there even more,â McDermott said.
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