Orchard Park, N.Y. — When Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady thinks about receiver Keon Coleman’s game, an inability to separate has never entered the equation.
“(Being able to separate has) never been something that we’ve ever worried us about with him,” Brady told Syracuse.com. “The term separation in the NFL, that’s such a - maybe it’s a misused line, because it’s so hard to A, get separation, and then B, what does that separation look like? A lot of it is just nuances of running routes.”
The separation data on Coleman from his rookie season has left Bills fans and media members questioning whether the 21-year-old has what it takes to blossom into a premier pass catcher in the NFL.
Pro Football Focus ranked Coleman last in the league among receivers with at least 250 routes run in 2024 with a -.05 Raw Separation Grade. Against single coverage, Coleman averaged the least amount of separation of any qualifying receiver.
Despite those numbers, Brady was adamant that Coleman has the goods.
“Keon is extremely explosive,” Brady said. “He can bend at his size and he’s able to go up and play at the ball. Sometimes the bigger wide receivers, like you don’t need the separation because you can play with your size and your physicality.”
The offseason got off to a rocky start for Coleman after a disappointing finish to the season had coach Sean McDermott challenge him in his postseason comments.
“I thought he had an up and down first season,” McDermott said. “He got injured, and then from there on, it was rather rocky, I would say.”
Coleman didn’t have any problems with his coach’s assessment of his first NFL season. It lined up with how he felt it went.
“If you and your coaches are not saying the same thing, somebody lying,” Coleman said. “So if y’all have the same general idea on what stuff supposed to look like and what ya’ll want it to look like for the future, then you’ve done a good job self-evaluating yourself and being honest with yourself.”
READ ABOUT COLEMAN’S PERFORMANCE IN OTAs
Coleman said getting separation wasn’t a problem in 2024 and laughed off the criticism from outside the building. He takes his craft seriously, though. He’s been in the lab focusing on the details.
“For me, (I’ve been working on) consistency with technique, getting in and out of your breaks, staying quarterback friendly, being physical at the top of your routes, just being clean,” he said. “(Doing it) 100% of time, that’s rare to happen, but you got to get as close as you can to that 100% to be real effective.”
Brady said Coleman is still learning the position and has shown significant growth in the few weeks he’s been back in the building at One Bills Drive. McDermott heaped praise on his second-year receiver at the start of Organized Team Activities.
“When he came back, he was in really good shape,” McDermott said. “You could tell he had been working drill wise, weight room-wise, so real proud of what he’s done to this point in the offseason.”
Coleman’s upside was never on display last season more than the three-game stretch he put together before an untimely November injury. Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer put Coleman out four games with an illegal helmet hit that landed high on the receiver’s arm/hand. Coleman had his first 100-yard game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7 and then put on a show against ‘Riq Woolen and the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8, grabbing five receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown.
According to Next Gen Stats, Coleman was averaging over 2.0 yards per route run, and his +136 receiving yards over expected was the third-best mark for a rookie through eight weeks in an NFL season since 2018 (behind only Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase.
The Week 9 game against the Dolphins put everything on hold for Coleman. Now he’s taking hold of his development as he builds, piece by piece, for a critical sophomore campaign.
OTAs are a tough measuring stick in NFL locker rooms. Teams aren’t in pads and players have to get creative if they want to work on their skills.
“You use your creativity and imagination at OTAs, and if it’s working out, you carry that through camp,” Coleman said. “You mix in a lot of different things. Have conversations with your (defensive backs). Ask what they’re trying to take away on this play. So after the rep, y’all working it, y’all have a quick little conversation about how y’all could both get better. So me and my teammates are bettering each other.”
Coleman’s gotten comfortable in his battles against Bills cornerback Christian Benford. The two share trade secrets during and after practice. Former Bills All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White returned to the team as a free agent in April. He’s already started tutoring Coleman in all the details of the game.
White has a unique perspective because he scouted Coleman when he was a Baltimore Raven in January ahead of the AFC divisional round showdown against the Bills. Now that he’s teammates with Coleman, White has seen the quick level-up already.
“(He’s) Big, explosive, (has the) jump ball, route running is improving,” White said. “Because just from me watching them on tape ... and now seeing OTAs, you can see the difference in the body too. So it’s like, guys, when you can see the transformation and see how guys are changing, body is changing, you know they really care about their craft and you know they’re really putting in the work to be successful and be the best player that they can be for the team.”
Coleman said he plans to work with quarterback Josh Allen during the break between this week’s mandatory minicamp and the start of training camp at the end of July.
Brady’s message to Coleman during the spring has been a simple one. He wants the young receiver to self-scout his game and come up with new ways to attack defenses.
“Once you put stuff on tape, you have people know how you play,” Brady said. “A thing with him was making sure that, hey, he’s continuing to develop his game, his toolbox from a release standpoint, from an understanding how defenses are going to play him, with his size and his his routes, and that’s something that takes time for any rookie to learn.”
The next step for Coleman is to understand the offensive side of the ball while incorporating the details that defenses will use to defend against his skill set.
“So being able to teach him from that perspective of, hey, yeah, you’re just running this route, and it might adjust versus this coverage. But how are the guys going to play you, not necessarily how they’re going to play Tyreek Hill or some of these other guys,” Brady explained.
Brady said Coleman is one of the smartest players he’s coached.
“You know his football IQ is high, and he’s kind of hungry for it,” Brady said. “Once you get to training camp, that’s when you hope to see a lot of these things I’ve seen, where the toolbox is. You know how T. White’s playing him, how Christian Benford is playing him, and how he can adjust and be able to change from there. I’ve been impressed with how he’s just handled himself going into year two.”