The Buffalo Bills could use an emergence on the outside, and in the eyes of left tackle Dion Dawkins, that player will be second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman.
“It is night and day, or a sunny day and a storm,” Dawkins said on Wednesday about the difference in Coleman from last year to this year, according to 13WHAM. “Keon is not the same player from last year, so the league better get ready. He is not the same guy, and as a teammate, I am so glad that he picked it up so early because he is not the same player. And I’m just glad that Josh [Allen] has him, as well as the Buffalo Bills. Keon has showed up from training camp to being on time, to checking into dinner, to checking into lunch, to being available.
“He’s been a fully changed Keon, and I’m happy to be his teammate and for him to just keep learning, because he is going to be special, and he already is. This is Keon’s time, and you’ll see it.”
Buffalo selected Coleman with the No. 33 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Florida State, with whom he led the ACC with 11 receiving touchdowns in 2023.
In his rookie season (2024), Coleman totaled 29 receptions for 556 yards (19.2 yards per reception) and four touchdowns. He then had three receptions for 22 yards in the playoffs. The 6-foot-4 Coleman ranked 60th among wide receivers with a 68.8 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Bills averaged 227.9 passing yards per game, good for ninth in the NFL, in a season that saw Allen win the NFL MVP Award. That said, Allen also threw for just 3,731 yards, his lowest output since 2019. The 2024 season was the Bills’ first without star wide receiver Stefon Diggs, whom they traded to the Houston Texans in the 2024 offseason and was a Pro Bowler in each of his four years with the franchise (2020-23).
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On the wide receiver front, 2024 mid-season pickup Amari Cooper remains a free agent, while Mack Hollins signed with the New England Patriots. Buffalo signed receivers Josh Palmer (three-year, $29 million deal), Elijah Moore (one-year, $2.5 million deal) and Laviska Shenault (one-year, $1.2 million deal), while selecting Maryland receiver Kaden Prather with the No. 240 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bills extended wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who led Buffalo with both 76 receptions and 821 receiving yards last season, on a four-year, $53 million deal.
Meanwhile, Dawkins, a Pro Bowler in each of the past four seasons, is one of the best left tackles in the sport. Last season, Dawkins ranked 16th among offensive tackles with an 81.2 pass-blocking grade, 33rd with a 72.9 overall grade and 44th with a 68.7 run-blocking grade, per PFF.
Coleman, Dawkins and the Bills close out their 2025 preseason on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night and host the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 7 to kick off their regular season.
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