Bills GM Brandon Beane suggested recently that WR Keon Coleman still has a lot of developing to do. Beane noted the big difference between college and NFL playbooks and that Coleman will need to learn to stay engaged on run plays.
Here's the full quote from Beane:
"I think Keon has worked hard. Like anything, college playbook vs. an NFL playbook, big difference. The verbiage, where he's lining up, sight adjusts, all the variances he's gotta do. Even just what we ask in the run game from our guys. I don't know specifically what he was asked [at Florida State]. Some schools there's very little. It's just like if it's not a pass play, take a play off. That's not here. He's gotta be involved in all phases of our offense. But I see a guy who's working hard, who's competitive. You guys have gotten to know his personality. He's genuine. That's truly who he is. Like anything, he's gonna have bumps in the road. He's a rookie, and I think we all need to understand that. But I think him and Josh [Allen] are working on that rapport that's gonna be necessary between QB and receiver."
Beane sure seems to be tapping the breaks on any expectations of Coleman dominating right away. It's certainly worth remembering that he played only three college seasons and just turned 21 in May.
There, of course, is still plenty of time for Coleman to prove he can do all those things Beane spoke about. The rookie remains the highest-upside fantasy bet in Buffalo's WR corps. But you shouldn't be surprised if Coleman gets off to a slow start -- or even if he underwhelms throughout the season.
His late-sixth-round, WR41 ADP on Underdog is a bit rich. Coleman is much more reasonably priced on FFPC, where he's going in Round 11 as the WR53.
Slow development from Coleman would only be good news for WRs Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir. They're both going behind Coleman across fantasy sites and could prove to be the better values.
WRs Chase Claypool and Mack Hollins are also vying for snaps in Buffalo.
We're not adjusting our Bills projections just yet but will be keeping a close eye on Coleman's role with the first-team offense in training camp and preseason action.
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