logo
Analyst Predicts Breakout From Bills' 2nd-Year Receiver

Analyst Predicts Breakout From Bills' 2nd-Year Receiver

Yahoo2 days ago

Analyst Predicts Breakout From Bills' 2nd-Year Receiver originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Scouts were split when the Buffalo Bills drafted Keon Coleman in the second round of the 2024 draft.
Some believed that Coleman's size and speed was a deadly combination for the Bills and quarterback Josh Allen. Others had concerns about his consistency as a receiver, and injury problems in college.
Advertisement
After one season in the league, it seems that each side of the aisle has a point when it comes to the 22-year-old.
Coleman missed four games during the season due to a wrist injury, and only caught 29 passes. Despite the low catch total, he averaged over 19 yards per reception - an outrageous mark and one of the highest in football last season.
Heading into Year 2 of his NFL journey, one particular analyst believes that a breakout is coming for a fully healthy and energized Coleman.
Pro Football Sports Network's Jacob Infante believes second-year wideout Keon Coleman is the breakout player to watch in Buffalo.
Advertisement
"Amidst a loaded 2024 wide receiver draft class, Keon Coleman had a pretty low volume with just 29 catches," Infante said. "But he made the most of his targets, finishing third in the NFL with 19.2 yards per catch and scoring four touchdowns.
'The Buffalo Bills signed Josh Palmer and Elijah Moore in free agency, but Coleman projects higher than in 2025. A big-bodied target with tremendous ball skills and physicality, expect him to put up bigger numbers in Year 2.'
Allen is a league MVP throwing players like Coleman the football. So long as that continues, the Florida State product should be able to excel in his second year in the offense.
Perhaps an improved year from Coleman can get people to stop criticizing Buffalo for gifting the Kansas City Chiefs Xavier Worthy just a few picks before.
Advertisement
Related: Bills' 'Storm Cloud' Threatening To Derail 2025 Season
Related: Bills See History Repeat Itself In 'Nightmare' Season Scenario
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘I can't thank Boston enough': Hilary Knight says goodbye to the city where her career began
‘I can't thank Boston enough': Hilary Knight says goodbye to the city where her career began

Boston Globe

timean hour ago

  • Boston Globe

‘I can't thank Boston enough': Hilary Knight says goodbye to the city where her career began

Knight played three seasons each with the Boston Blades and Boston Pride, and after captaining the Boston Fleet for the past two seasons, Knight is shipping out of Boston, perhaps for the last time. Advertisement The Fleet 'I don't want to minimize the opportunity in Seattle and how excited I am to be closer to home and really build on a foundation for Pacific Northwest hockey development,' Knight told the Globe. 'But in the same breath, I'm sad, as well. I'm leaving behind an amazing city that my career was able to flourish in from even before the PWHL existed . . . I can't thank Boston enough — the group of players that we had the last two years, the staff, the fans. It was an incredible experience.' Related : Advertisement Knight played for the CWHL's Blades from 2012-15, then moved to the NWHL's Pride for three years. She left Boston in 2018 and played for the CWHL's Montreal Canadiennes until the end of the 2019 season, when she joined the PWHPA and bought a house in Minnesota. When the PWHL came calling in 2023, Knight was all-in on returning to Boston. She sold her house and began her journey to the East Coast. 'I was two feet in,' she said. 'I really wanted to build something important in the city.' Hilary Knight lobs a puck to a young fan before a game in the inaugural Walter Cup playoffs. Barry Chin/Globe Staff Knight, Aerin Frankel, and Megan Keller signed on as Boston's foundational players, and Knight was named the inaugural captain. While she struggled on the stat sheet in the league's first year (six goals, five assists in 24 games), Knight was critical in building the team's foundation. 'There's no doubt that Hillary Knight is the No. 1 person you want in that locker room,' coach Courtney Kessel said. 'She did exactly what we were hoping for and was exactly what you need when you're starting something from the ground up.' Knight had a breakout year in the league's second season, finishing as a finalist for the MVP award after her 29 points in 30 games tied for the league lead. But it's no secret that Knight, 35, is getting older. She announced in May she plans to make the 2026 Milan Olympics her fifth and final Games, and though she said she plans to continue competing in the PWHL after 2026, there's no telling how many seasons she has left. Advertisement For that reason, the Fleet decided to place their chips on their younger players, protecting Frankel, Keller, and Alina Muller, while leaving Knight open to poaching. 'Not protecting Hilary Knight was the hardest decision that I've made in my professional career to date,' Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer said. With a résumé as long as Knight's, it was all but guaranteed she'd be a goner. 'My job is to put the best product on the ice with the players that I have,' Kessel said. 'And Danielle Marmer's job is to think about the longevity of this program and what the Boston Fleet will look like in three, five, 10 years from now. It wasn't easy, that's for sure.' Related : Knight understands why the Fleet chose to prioritize youth. But that didn't make it easy. 'It was really difficult because I did jump two feet in, right?' Knight said. 'You could say, 'Oh, that's just how it is in pro sports,' but at the end of the day, we don't make millions of dollars, so you're really betting on yourself a lot of times.' The wound is still fresh, but Knight is excited for what's next. When the league announced Seattle as an expansion city, she thought to herself that whoever got to play there would have an 'unbelievable' experience. She's looking forward to being closer to her family in Idaho, and she's excited to have a hand in shaping the future of women's hockey. Related : As Knight prepares for the next step, the city that became her second home and the fans who welcomed her to it remain at the front of her mind. 'The fans are just so special, and it's something that I'm getting emotional talking about because that's the dream, right?' Knight said. 'The dream is them coming to watch us play, and us getting to feel that support. It's such a special city. It's such a special group of people that love us and support us, and I'm forever grateful for that.' Advertisement Knight (left) and Jamie Lee Rattray share a laugh during player introductions before the 2024-25 home opener. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe Emma Healy can be reached at

Josh Allen would love to quarterback Team USA in flag football at 2028 Olympics
Josh Allen would love to quarterback Team USA in flag football at 2028 Olympics

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Josh Allen would love to quarterback Team USA in flag football at 2028 Olympics

Josh Allen could go from MVP to USA. The Buffalo Bills quarterback said he'd be interested in representing the United States in flag football in the 2028 Summer Olympics, now that the NFL players are permitted to compete. Advertisement "I'm not going to disrespect the guys that are playing flag football right now, but if there was an opportunity for me to try I would absolutely love to," Allen said Tuesday prior to the Bills' first mandatory minicamp practice. "I've always wanted to compete for my country. Every time the Olympics are on, I'm tuned in and glued to the screen. I think there's really no greater honor to do that. That'd be really cool." Flag football was officially added to the 2028 Olympic program five years ago, with NFL owners approving the participation of league players last month. Allen's interest follows that of several other star players, including quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, as well as wide receivers Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, and Justin Hunter, running back Bijan Robinson, and defensive stars Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons. Each country can send one player from each NFL team to represent them in the tournament. USA Football will handle Team USA's selection process. Advertisement Flag football will feature six men's and six women's teams, with the United States guaranteed a spot. The full list of countries has not been determined yet. The United States, Austria, Mexico, Germany, France and Italy are currently the top six men's teams in the world. Olympic flag football will be played on a field roughly one-quarter the size of an NFL gridiron, with five-on-five competition and rosters capped at 10 players per team. The 2028 Summer Olympics will take place July 14-30 in Los Angeles, about 250 miles from Allen's hometown of Firebaugh, California. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Josh Allen would love to represent USA flag football at 2028 Olympics

Bills minicamp observations: Christian Benford dazzles, Joe Andreessen shows improvement, and more
Bills minicamp observations: Christian Benford dazzles, Joe Andreessen shows improvement, and more

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Bills minicamp observations: Christian Benford dazzles, Joe Andreessen shows improvement, and more

With two full weeks of Organized Team Activities complete, the Bills shook off the rust to prepare them for their final big rehearsal before training camp begins in late July. Tuesday marked the beginning of the Bills' annual mandatory minicamp, a scheduled three-day practice window before the team adjourns for over a month before training camp. Advertisement Freshly back from marrying actress Hailee Steinfeld in late May, franchise quarterback Josh Allen returned to the team for the beginning of the minicamp after missing the final week of OTAs for obvious reasons. Allen, sporting his new wedding ring for the first time during a practice, was tight-lipped about most wedding-related things but was excited to return to work. 'We're back to football, got some hardware now,' Allen stated, raising his left hand briefly to show the ring. 'So, good to go.' Allen and his 90 teammates — including running back James Cook — were all in attendance for the first day of the mandatory session. What stood out about the team's first required practice of the 2025 campaign? Here are several observations from Day 1 of Bills minicamp. One of the biggest investments the Bills made in the offseason was in cornerback Christian Benford, signing him to a long-term extension that runs through the 2029 season and committing to him as their clear-as-day top cornerback through the next several seasons. Although it's a spring workout, and you can't read too much into things this time of the year, Benford's poise and confidence, in both reading the play in front of him and in his still-improving ability to turn and run with a receiver, were completely apparent. On the first rep of team drills, Benford kicked things off with a sprawling interception of Allen, which elicited a humongous reaction from his defensive teammates and set the tone for a practice that was, for the most part, dictated by the defense against the Allen-led offensive attack. Benford followed up that strong start with another big playmaking rep, as he turned and ran with receiver Tyrell Shavers. With Benford's back turned to Allen, he watched as Shavers waited until the last second to put his hands up and try to corral the pass along the sideline. The instant that Benford saw Shavers' arms go up, Benford reacted and punched the ball out of the receiver's hands before Shavers could try to tuck the ball into his body. Advertisement Those two reps indicate a simple fact around Orchard Park: Benford is one of the team's best defenders and still has some room to grow to make his ceiling even higher than last year. If something was missing from his defensive profile in the previous two years of starting, it was an overall lack of interceptions. He had four over those two regular seasons, which is respectable. However, if the already instinctive and still improving Benford can help create more turnovers in 2025 and beyond, he can easily become known as one of the top players at his position in the NFL. On top of it all, Benford doesn't even turn 25 until September, which means once he hits his prime, the Bills have him locked in for its entirety. He could easily be one of the most important players on the team in 2025. In workout settings like the mandatory minicamp, you can always tell who put a lot of time on task during the offseason. And based on what he did with more opportunities on Tuesday, second-year player Joe Andreessen was undoubtedly one of them. It's really difficult to stand out in an offseason practice setting as a linebacker because so much physicality goes into playing the role. Still, Andreessen showed improvement in an area he struggled with as a rookie — pass coverage. During 7-on-7s, he read the quarterback and the route to jump it to break up a pass attempt. Later, in 11-on-11 work, Andreessen trusted his coverage instincts to drift where the quarterback's eyes took him, and he was able to run down a throw and break up a pass near the sidelines that the receiver would have caught had Andreessen not read the play. It's those types of signs the Bills love to see this time of year and something that can bring on more opportunities at training camp. Advertisement After moving around a bit last year, Andreessen settled into a reserve middle linebacker role during his rookie season, and that's likely to be his best position in the short term. Even though the starting spot is not up for discussion, with Terrel Bernard being the clear starter, the opportunity to steal the backup job from Baylon Spector is there. Given Andreessen's importance on special teams and developing defensive skills, it's looking increasingly like he's closer to 53-man-roster-lock status rather than being on the bubble as he was last year. It's been a bit since the Bills reached into their Carolina pipeline for players who general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott worked with while they were there, but a big name from their old Panthers program joined the Bills Tuesday. Linebacker Shaq Thompson, Carolina's first-round pick in 2015, signed a one-year deal with the Bills, making him the team's first semi-significant acquisition at linebacker this offseason. Thompson tore his Achilles early on during the 2024 season and has been rehabbing it since. Even with the injury, his institutional knowledge of how McDermott operated for years in Carolina will help him as he gets comfortable in Buffalo. On his first day on the job, Thompson went through some positional drills at the beginning of practice. He has a big name and has started 112 games over his 10-year career. So what's fair to expect of him? At this point, Thompson would likely be battling for no better than the fourth spot on the linebacker depth chart. Bernard, Matt Milano and Dorian Williams all seem relatively entrenched in their spots among the top three. Thompson, who was primarily an outside linebacker for McDermott in Carolina, could have some crossover to also work as a middle linebacker at this stage of his career. If Thompson pushes to make the team, players like Spector, Edefuan Ulofoshio, or both, could be at risk of getting cut. Spector has dealt with injuries throughout his Bills career, leaving the door open to someone taking his job. A lot will be determined by the guaranteed money on Thompson's contract, along with how he looks at training camp. If Thompson doesn't earn a roster spot, he'd also be a candidate for a veteran stash on their practice squad. Although 91 players were in attendance on Tuesday, not all of them were able to participate in the practice fully. McDermott gave out a fairly lengthy list, which included defensive end Joey Bosa, nickel Taron Johnson, center Connor McGovern, safety Cole Bishop, defensive back Cam Lewis, safety Damar Hamlin and wide receiver K.J. Hamler. Advertisement That group also extended to running back Ty Johnson and center Alec Anderson, as the offensive lineman did not take any 11-on-11 snaps near the end of the practice. But even though most were limited throughout the session, almost all of them had varying levels of on-field work on Tuesday. Johnson was in a non-contact jersey, but he participated in most of the day, which included 11-on-11 snaps. None of the others were able to do as much as Johnson. Still, encouragingly, some potential starting players were able to take some low-stress reps during the offensive and defensive installation portion — essentially a walkthrough. That group included Bosa, who suffered a calf injury just days ahead of the team's first practice for OTAs. His appearance is a good sign for his involvement when camp arrives in late July. McGovern, Bishop, Spector and Hamlin also took some installation reps despite not taking any team drill snaps. It all shows that those injuries are relatively minor, which could make them all ready for the start of training camp. This time last year, the Bills' receiver room was wide open to a potential younger player pushing for a spot on the 53-man roster, and Shavers showed a great deal of promise. He followed it up with a good training camp and was likely one of the last cuts the Bills had to make for their 53-man roster in 2024. But they kept him in-house all season on the practice squad. To begin this year's minicamp, Shavers struggled with the rudimentary part of the job — catching the ball. He let one get away without a defender on him in routes vs. air, and in one of the first team drill reps, he dropped another short pass. That, along with getting the ball raked out of his hands by Benford during team drills, contributed to a frustrating day for Shavers. The receiver is likely facing an uphill climb to make the team in 2025 despite being a solid special teams player, and days like this hurt his chances, but there is a lot of time between now and cutdown day in late August. Regardless, he remains a potential practice squad asset for yet another season in Buffalo. Advertisement If there's one thing that punters will need to be prepared for while playing in Buffalo, it's the whipping winds of Orchard Park throughout the fall and winter months. However, the two competitors in this year's punting competition — Brad Robbins and Jake Camarda — had unusually high winds in June to deal with during the beginning of practice. Robbins was given six punting attempts to Camarda's three, which is an interesting nod toward Robbins. But it's important to note that the Bills structured Robbins' first three reps and all of Camarda's reps to have the same situation. Camarda was the clear winner through the winds in that specialized situation, besting both the hang time and average yardage categories. Camarda's attempts had an average hang time of 4.06 to Robbins' 4.01, and Camarda averaged 64 yards per punt to Robbins' 54.7. Robbins did improve in a different situation further down the field for his final three chances, averaging 4.2 seconds of hang time and 58.3 yards per punt, but Camarda was clearly the winner. Robbins had been the better punter in the two days of OTAs that the media was allowed to watch, so Camarda's win will likely make this into a full-blown close competition to track at training camp. Up Next: Day 2 of Bills minicamp begins at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. (Photo of Christian Benford: Mark Konezny / Imagn Images)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store