Buffalo Bills get WR who has 'that dog in him;' add Keon Coleman with first pick of second round

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — It took longer than expected, but the Buffalo Bills finally made a pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by selecting Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman with the first pick in the second round.

Coleman is a big-bodied threat who attacks jump balls with his 6'4", 215-pound frame. As a junior with the Seminoles, Coleman caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns. The knock on Coleman is his lack of game-changing speed, but his other strengths make him a worthwhile gamble for the Bills as they look to find a true boundary wide receiver.

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane touched on all of this after Coleman was selected with the 33rd overall pick but added that what helped sell him to the rest of the front office staff was his charisma during their one-on-one time with him.

"A lot of people got to know Keon in the (top) 30 visit and talking about his energy he has a lot of bravado to him. Personality and I think you guys will enjoy him."

“He has what we call that dog in him, where it’s his ball and nobody else’s," Football Gameplan Owner Emory Hunt told 7 Sports at the NFL Combine. "He plays bully ball out there. And if you go back and watch the LSU game and other opponents how he bullied some of these defensive backs, at the point of attack and off the line of scrimmage. When the ball is in the air you can’t bump him off the route, he’s going to be physical to fight through that contact and he’s going to go up and get the football.”

Coleman should be able to immediately contribute to a Bills offense searching for weapons following the departures of Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Deonte Harty, and Trent Sherfield. While his skill set is different than what the Bills have had in years past, his ability to bring in contested catches was something Beane coveted.

You can watch Beane's full comments below.

"I'm a guy who can play the X and can move around the offense and things like that and I can pick up information fairly quickly," Coleman said to reporters on Friday. "I'm also just a great guy I think outside of being a football player. I fit what they want, a guy who's going to come in and work hard and be held accountable."

You can watch Coleman speak below.

“He’s going to be a quarterback's best friend," Hunt added. "He has such a wide catch radius and the arrogant hands that we like to say, where if that ball is in the air, it’s in his zip code, and he's going to get it.”

Bove's Take:

Coleman is one of the most polarizing wide receivers in this draft class. Some experts are worried about his speed and his lack of consistently creating separation.

But others will note he plays faster than his 40-time suggests. He finished the gauntlet drill at the NFL Combine faster than anyone else in his group.

This doesn't solve all the Bills wide receiver's problems. They should still be using another premium asset to get more weapons for Allen. But it's a start and Coleman's upside is hard to pass up.