The Bills did not use the No. 33 overall pick in 2024 on a role player.
Buffalo drafted Keon Coleman to be a difference-maker, a size mismatch in the passing game, and a receiver who could make a big play when it mattered.
Two seasons in, that version of Coleman has not shown up in flashes but not yet consistently.
Coleman was a healthy scratch for four of the final five games in 2025 after being late for a November team meeting, and his production after a Week 1 explosion against Baltimore was not seen again. He finished with 38 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games — And will now need to take the next step at the pro level to become a reliable option in the passing game behind Khalil Shakir and newly acquired DJ Moore.
Coleman is being honest in his assessment, calling 2026 his “make or break” season. With his offensive coordinator who “stood on a table” to draft him becoming the head coach, and with QB Josh Allen in his prime, the Bills need him to be right.
The receiver’s 2025 season started like a breakout. In the Week 1 win over the Ravens, he went off for eight catches, 112 yards and one touchdown. It looked like the 6-foot-3, 213-pound receiver was ready to become the physical red-zone target Buffalo envisioned.
That was not how things unfolded the rest of the way.
The late-season discipline issue compounded the problem. After being scratched for a November game, Coleman sat three more times as a healthy scratch, a situation that made him the subject of offseason trade speculation and even a public acknowledgment from Bills owner Terry Pegula that the coaching staff pushed for the pick. When an owner is answering questions about a second-year receiver, the pressure has officially become public.
The Bills did not move on from Coleman, instead they doubled down on him being part of the solution.
During mandatory minicamp in June, Brady noted he’s seen an “outstanding offseason” from the third-year receiver, pointing to the physical signs that matter for a big-bodied wideout.
“You feel him coming off the football, you feel the stride, you feel his size,” Joe Brady said. “It’s the consistency and the routine and everything he’s doing, but handling everything like a pro … And a guy like Keon, he’s positioned himself in a great place and just gotta continue to build on that.”
For Coleman in 2026, it is about those things: consistency, routine, professionalism. The raw talents have been there, the question is whether they can translate into a reliable weekly role.
In an offense that sees limited touches due to spreading the distribution around, maximizing opportunities with efficiency will be key. These might be the first steps toward becoming the player Buffalo thought it was getting.
The young receiver is not walking into a guaranteed starting job. The Bills acquired DJ Moore to be the primary outside target, and used a fourth-round pick on Skyler Bell to add another athletic talent to the room. Joshua Palmer and Tyrell Shavers are returning from injuries, and Khalil Shakir remains the trusted slot option with receiving tight end Dalton Kincaid in the mix alongside veteran leader Dawson Knox.
Moore’s addition and presence will open up more opportunities for Buffalo’s two-tight end sets as well as for other receivers, making those moments his number is called all the more important to make the most of.
General manager Brandon Beane said in April on WGR550 that he feels Coleman’s “best year is yet to come here in 2026.” That is a vote of confidence, but it is also a public acknowledgement of the team’s expectations.
Buffalo is not a developing roster, it is one that is trying to make it into and win the last game of the season for the first time in franchise history and with Allen in the middle of his prime. The offense has been retooled with a new No. 1 receiver in the mix. Buffalo hopes they now have weapons to beat the Chiefs and the rest of the AFC when the margin for error disappears.
Coleman could be one of those weapons. His size, contested-catch ability and physical profile are exactly what Brady wants on the outside.
Corner Maxwell Hairston said this offseason that Coleman is “trending in the right direction” and that he “can’t wait to see him take off this year.” That is the best-case scenario for Buffalo — a motivated Coleman taking the next step in a room that now has the talent and structure to hold him accountable.
He isn’t running from the noise. He’s heard it just like the rest of us, and just does not care to hear it anymore.
“None of them gonna come lace them up and try to stand in front of me,” Coleman said this spring of his critics. “People are gonna say what they want to say. At the end of the day, my job is to come out here, put my cleats on, strap them up and prove my worth here.”
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills WR Keon Coleman calls 2026 a ‘make or break’ season’
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
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By David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire | USA TODAY Network
