I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve been curious for a while about what Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman brings to the wide receiver room. He was a natural for this week’s game review. FYI, the short week was a bit of a dilemma, so I only focused on his five targets.

Game 1 — Cross and RAC

First, I like the route combo to create some hesitation on defense. Arizona played zone under where Coleman passed the ball and, as the GIF illustrates, he found a lot of separation. If there’s one minor quibble here, it’s that Coleman seemed to slow down a bit to make the catch (note his feet). That’s a double-edged quibble, because it means the rapport with quarterback Josh Allen needs to be improved for the negative, and there’s room to improve for the positive. Next, I love that Coleman immediately turned forward and showed good body control to slip past the first down and try to avoid an unnecessary hit.

Play 2 — Press and release

This was a good rep against a defender who was trying to disrupt the route and affect the timing. Here we see an attempt to force Coleman to the sideline (hold that image for a moment). Coleman didn’t let that slow him down, which is great. Even better, he rotated back fluidly and with great timing to get the ball. Coleman couldn’t avoid contact, but he tried to stay on his feet for another yard or two. Disclaimer about the low sample size aside, what you see in this clip and the previous one is a player who is happy to stay healthy when he can, but also isn’t afraid to fight when he has to.

Game 3 — More of the Same

In this case, more of the same isn’t a bad thing. The route combo is emphasized again. Arizona could have been better prepared for this, but the play call really stressed that end of the field and left Josh Allen with a few good options for a quick pass. Coleman got the nod and once again we see him fight for more yards (first touch) and live to fight another day (second touch).

Game 4 — Sideline

Remember when I said to hold on? Here the defender was generally successful in pushing Coleman to the boundary. The sideline can become an extra defender and at first glance it looked like Coleman could fall victim to it. That said, if you have a great pass there is always a chance. You’re not out of bounds until you’re really out of bounds, right? Allen dropped this when Coleman had a chance to come back and adjust for the catch, and I bet we’ve all seen this highlight reel 100 times by now. I love the body control and timing on this play. Coleman went from looking like he was going to be pushed out of bounds to almost wide open, all thanks to a quick pump of the brakes and a turn back to put his body between Allen and the defense.

Game 5 – Nobody’s Perfect

On the earlier rep with a little contact by the defender, it’s a clear win for Coleman. On this play, it wasn’t much, but Coleman’s route was slowed by contact. I believe if Coleman takes this route one step further, he has a good chance to score his first touchdown.

The last drop

While time constraints this week prevented me from watching every photo of Keon Coleman from his first regular season game, I still liked what I saw. Coleman looks ready to play and make a meaningful contribution to an offense with plenty of room to grow.