The makeup of the Bills’ rebuilt wide receiver room suggests Keon Coleman will need to hit the ground running. Buffalo passed on multiple wideouts late in the first round before identifying Coleman as their centerpiece fix post-Stefon Diggs.
This year’s first player chosen in the second round, Coleman is now under contract. The Bills inked the Florida State wideout to his four-year rookie contract Wednesday; this agreement concludes the draft signing portion of Buffalo’s offseason.
Last year’s first player off the Round 2 board, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., did not receive a fully guaranteed contract. Neither did Titans QB Will Levis (No. 33). Coleman’s Bills pact could set a precedent, and with second-rounders making notable guarantee gains during this signing period, Coleman’s Year 4 salary guarantee will be a number to watch. The Steelers guaranteed $1.4MM of Porter’s $2MM final-year salary; the Bills will be expected to move beyond that point for Coleman.
Buffalo traded Diggs to Houston, with the Texans’ offer of a 2025 second-rounder changing the perennial AFC East champions’ plans with their previous WR1. The team also let Gabe Davis walk in free agency. While the Bills signed slot/gadget performer Curtis Samuel and signed some midlevel veterans — including ex-Chief Marquez Valdes-Scantling — Coleman seems likely to contribute regularly this season.
The Bills seem likely to be counting on a player who did not eclipse 800 receiving yards in a season with Michigan State or Florida State. After a 798-yard showing with the Spartans in 2022, he totaled 658 in 12 Seminoles contests last year. Coleman, 21, also lumbered to a 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. The 6-foot-3 weapon’s top speed of 20.36 mph in the Combine gauntlet drill was the fastest measured over the past two years, however.
With the Bills giving Josh Allen some input on this year’s receiver class, the superstar QB endorsed Coleman. The Bills passed on the likes of Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall and Xavier Legette at the end of the first round, picking up additional draft capital by trading down twice. The team faced criticism for allowing the Chiefs to climb up to No. 28 for Worthy, with the Patriots believed to have made an offer for the pick as well. After Buffalo traded out of Round 1 (via Carolina), it will not have a fifth-year option on Coleman.
Moving toward training camp, here are the Bills draftees set to vie for jobs:
- Round 2, No. 33 (from Panthers): Keon Coleman (WR, Florida State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 60: Cole Bishop (S, Utah) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 95 (from Chiefs): DeWayne Carter, DT (Duke) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 128: Ray Davis (RB, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 141 (from Giants through Panthers): Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (C, Georgia) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 160 (from Packers): Edefuan Ulofoshio (LB, Washington) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 168 (from Saints): Javon Solomon (EDGE, Troy) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 204: Tylan Grable (T, Central Florida) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 219 (from Packers): Daequan Hardy (CB, Penn State) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 221 (from Panthers through Titans and Chiefs): Travis Clayton (T, England) (signed)