2 Bills veter
ans whose roles will be pushed by rookies
These rookies could be players for the Buffalo Bills in 2024.
After spending years loading up on veteran talents in the hopes of getting over the hump – read: the Kansas City Chiefs – to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, the Buffalo Bills had to say goodbye to a number of fan favorites and long-time starters in order to get under the cap and embrace a more long-term team-building strategy that could set the foundations for a new core around Josh Allen into the future.
Will it work? Will these young players be able to fill the shoes of performers like Stefon Diggs, Jordan Poyer, and Tre’Davious White, who all left the team for one reason or another? Maybe yes, maybe no, but if that happens, the team will need big contributions from their first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
2. Keon Coleman will push Khalil Shakir for WR1
When Week 1 opens up for the Bills, the very first offensive snaps – assuming health – will likely feature both Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir on the field at the same time, with one having a foot on the line of scrimmage and the other a few steps back, either in the slot or as a flanker.
Sure, the team signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, Mack Hollins, and Curtis Samuel in free agency, and at least one of those players will end up being a contributor at WR3, but when it comes to Buffalo’s top two pass-catching options at the receiver position, Coleman and Shakir have to be number one and two, especially considering the team traded away Diggs for a three without having a clear idea of what their depth chart would look like come Week 1.
But hey, just because Coleman and Shakir are more or less locks to finish one and two in receiving yards on the team – baring a truly fantastic season by Dalton Kincaid or Kawson Knox – that doesn’t necessairly garuntee which performer will be ranked number one at the end of the season, let alone who Allin will like to look at most when the chips are down and he needs a target.
Standing 6-foot-3, 213 pounds, with an impressive 127-inch broad jump but a decidedly less impressive 4.61 40 time at the 2024 NFL Draft Combine, Coleman is an interesting player with a unique game, using his size and length to remain a viable target when he appears covered while turning into a lob threat in the endzone thanks to his plus size for the position. Though he famously doesn’t have a ton of experience as a traditional X receiver, what with his curious struggles to generate separation at the NCAA level, if Coleman can figure that aspect of his game out at the next level, there’s a legitimate chance he’s the team’s number one receiver this fall, with Shakir remaining in his number two spot from 2023.
