There is definitely a giant relationship rift between the Bills Keon Coleman, and the team owner, Terry Pegula. In defense of firing long-time head coach Sean McDermott, Pegula used Coleman to smear the guy who took the Bills to seven straight playoffs. In a press conference, questions were raised about the selection of Coleman in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Defending the general manager who made the selection, Brandon Beane (who Pegula had just promoted to president of football operations), Pegula said that Beane only made the selection because McDermott and his staff were high on the receiver and pressured Beane into the selection.
“The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice.” -Terry Pegula on the selection of Keon Coleman
Video has recently surfaced of the Bills’ war room during the draft, and Beane seemed to be all in on Coleman, with no pressure at all coming from the coaching staff. Beane is seen in the video telling Pegula’s daughter, Laura, that the team was planning to take Coleman at the top of the second round. It’s no surprise that the owner lied to protect a guy he likes, but why make it seem like Coleman was a bad selection?
Is Bills Keon Coleman A Bust?
Coleman may not have had the career so far that Bills Mafia would have hoped, but is it fair to call him a bust? He was selected with the first pick in the second round of the draft (33rd overall), and in two seasons with Buffalo, he has started 18 games, been targeted 116 times, and pulled in 67 catches for 960 yards and eight touchdowns. Only two players in that draft class who were taken after Coleman have more career receiving yards (Ladd McConkey, taken the very next pick, has 1,938, and Troy Franklin, taken 102nd, has 970).
Every other player in the 2024 draft who has more receiving yards than Coleman was taken ahead of him. Bills fans may have hoped that Coleman would put up numbers like Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, and Marvin Harrison Jr, but if he was as good as those players, he wouldn’t have been a top-10 pick, and the Bills would not have had a shot to get him. As far as second-round picks are concerned, Coleman has performed to expectations.
Even if Coleman has put up bust numbers (something closer to the Jets’ Malachi Corley), the owner should not agree with the press that he is a bust. The owner should protect his players from anything negative thrown at them. Instead, Pegula saw Coleman as a pawn he was ready and willing to sacrifice to make his choice of Beane over McDermott a good one. It’s shameful and embarrassing.
Bills Keon Coleman Should Go Somewhere Else
There are a number of teams in the NFL who would gladly take a big target like Coleman on the outside. If Coleman played for the Jets last year, he’d have the second-most receptions (38) on the team, just ahead of their running back, Breece Hall. On the Raiders, three of four of their top pass catchers were tight ends or running backs; Coleman would have had the second-most receptions for a receiver.
Those are two bad teams, but maybe they would be better with a receiver as good as Coleman. Or maybe Coleman is a decent receiver on a good team, which is exactly what should be expected from the 33rd pick in the draft. No matter how it’s sliced, according to his owner, Coleman is not in the right place, and his career, and at the very least, his 2026, would be better served in another uniform.
