ORCHARD PARK - Rarely do you get the level of honesty that Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane offered up on Thursday when he was asked for his thoughts regarding the rookie season of wide receiver Keon Coleman.

“I thought Keon did some good things, and I really felt like he and Josh and the offense were doing this (pointing up), but then he had the injury, and I would say probably was a little disappointed in the return from the injury,” Beane said. “I did not see the same player down the stretch from a physicality (standpoint), some of the things that he needs to use his size. I wish he had finished the season stronger.”

Ding, ding, ding. Beane rang the bell on that one. Coleman was Buffalo’s top draft pick in 2024 , the first selection of the second round after Beane twice traded down to get out of the expensive first round. Still, he was the 33rd player chosen, and he joined an offense where there was a clear path to productivity given the depth chart, both before the Amari Cooper trade and after.

There were lofty expectations, but Coleman suffered a wrist injur y late in the Nov. 3 victory over Miami when old friend Jordan Poyer delivered a somewhat cheap shot for which he was penalized. That sidelined Coleman for four games and after his return, he was essentially a ghost.

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Over the final four regular-season games and three playoff games, he was targeted 29 times and caught just 10 for 161 yards and one TD. To be fair, a chunk of that came in the season finale at New England when Mitch Trubisky and Mike White were throwing the ball, but the overarching point is that Coleman was not getting open enough to convince Josh Allen to go his way.

“Some of that is youth, some of that is, I’m not sure how many injuries he’s had to overcome in-season and come back,” Beane said of Coleman who, counting postseason, caught 32 passes for 578 yards and four TDs. “That takes a certain experience level, maybe how to deal with an injury, how to return, how do you work your way back into the lineup? Because we keep playing games, whether you’re out four weeks, five weeks, whatever it was for him.

“We had honest, direct conversations with Keon. We got to remember he’s 21 years old, so let’s give him a little grace here. His career will not be defined by one season, and he did some good things. He has a skill set that we think will play well in this offense, but it’s up to him. He’s going to have to work very hard this offseason, him and Josh continuing to work on that rapport together.”

The primary issue with Coleman coming into the draft was the question of whether he’d be able to win on his routes in the NFL. The Bills knew gaining separation would be a problem and it was. One of the ways Coleman overcame that against weaker competition in college was his contested catch ability, but that did not translate in year one.

There were 106 wide receivers with at least 40 targets and his 36.8% contested catch rate measured by Pro Football Focus ranked 85th while his dropped pass percentage of 13.5% ranked 98th. Specifically against man coverage, Coleman’s targets resulted in a sickly low QB passer rating of 66.3 which ranked 91st.

“Keon obviously was out for a few games, but I thought he made some spectacular plays throughout the season,” Allen said. “It’s going to be fun to continue to work with him.”

He did have some highlight reel plays, but they were few and far between and Coleman needs to make sizable strides in 2025 on a down to down basis.

“I thought Keon really got off to a good start,” Sean McDermott said, pointing to the Seattle game where he really played well. “He started to get it, and that’s some of the journey for these rookies, of getting them to understand the ‘it,’ and how hard it is to play in this league and play week to week, and you’re not going against any slouch corner out there, usually.

“Then he had the injury, unfortunately, at the end of the Miami game. So, I would agree with what Brandon said; he didn’t play his best down the stretch, and some of that probably was due to coming off the injury, but it’s something that he can learn from and improve on moving forward.”

Like Coleman, an injury derailed Bishop but his came in training camp and may have cost him a chance to win a starting job. Instead, Damar Hamlin seized the opportunity. Bishop was thrust into action against the Ravens and Texans when Taylor Rapp got hurt and he had a tough go in both games which the Bills lost.

He then got another chance when Hamlin missed three late season games and he started to show signs of growth, and finally, he was back out there for the last two playoff games when Rapp was once again out. Overall, Bishop was barely adequate and one of his biggest problems was tackling as he had a staggering 19.3% missed tackle rate, three of those coming in the loss to the Chiefs.

He played a total of 464 snaps and that was all meaningful experience, and he’ll get a chance to start in 2025 with Hamlin possibly leaving as a free agent, but like Coleman, he’s a long way from where he needs to be for that to happen.

DT

Another player who was halted by an injury . Carter was getting consistent playing time as the fourth DT and he started to make a few splashy plays. Against the Ravens, Texans and Titans he had a combined seven stops, a stop being defined by PFF as a play that caused a failure for the offense. Still, his overall performance in the first seven weeks was average at best.

Then he hurt his wrist in that Titans game, didn’t return until Week 14 against the Rams, and over the last four weeks he was one of the lowest-graded players on defense which is why he was inactive for all three playoff games.

RB

Davis began the year as the No. 2 back behind James Cook and he had a breakout performance against the Jets in Week 6 when Cook was sidelined. He ran for 97 yards and had 55 yards receiving, and in the second Miami game he had a 63-yard catch and run TD reception.

But as the season progressed, Ty Johnson began earning the higher snap count, mainly because he was a better receiver and pass protector than Davis. Still, Davis produced 442 yards rushing, 189 receiving and four TDs. It was a solid debut season and he could be in for a bigger role in 2025 if the Bills do not re-sign Johnson who is a free agent.

OL

Given the excellence of the Bills’ offensive line, he played only in mop-up situations with the exception of the last game in New England where he started and played all 67 snaps. He looks like he can be a nice depth piece for the interior, but he’s not beating out guards David Edwards or O’Cyrus Torrence, or center Connor McGovern anytime soon.

LB

He was active for just four regular-season games and 64 of the 66 snaps of defense that he played came against the Patriots, but he was active for all three postseason games and played 38 special teams snaps. It’s pretty tough to see Ulofoshio ever becoming a starter and if he sticks with the Bills down the line, it will be as a core special teamer because he does have the athleticism to excel in that area.

DE

The Bills picked Solomon because they were impressed with his quick burst energy around the edge and they were hoping he would find a way to cope with the fact that he stands just 6-foot-1 and weighs only 246 pounds. In limited playing time across 14 games, on just 89 pass rush snaps he was credited by PFF with 14 pressures and two sacks, though a good chunk of that came in garbage time situations.

Beyond that, Solomon was a core special teamer who played the sixth-most snaps in the kicking game and that was the main reason why he dressed in 16 games counting the postseason. He needs to add weight and become more well-rounded in defending the run if he hopes to earn more playing time.

OL

He was a longshot to make the roster but he beat out Ryan Van Demark for the swing tackle role. However, he suffered an abdominal injury in the Week 3 victory over Jacksonville and spent the next two-plus months on injured reserve. Eventually he returned and when the Bills rested most of their starters against the Patriots, Grable started at left tackle.

At 6-foot-5 and 313 pounds, the Bills love his athleticism and he will go into 2025 as the likely frontrunner to claim the swing spot, but with Dion Dawkins signed through 2027 and Spencer Brown through 2028, there isn’t much of a future for Grable, or Van Demark for that matter, unless one of those starters suffers an injury.

CB Daequan Hardy (6th)

Throughout OTAs and training camp, the Bills gave Hardy every opportunity to win the punt and kickoff return duties , but he struggled with his decision making and ball security. Unwilling to risk it, Beane acquired rookie cornerback Brandon Codrington from the Jets, a player who had flashed in the return game in the preseason for New York.

Hardy, who had a tough time covering as a corner in training camp, probably doesn’t have a future with the team. He spent the year on the practice squad and he’ll get another chance to make the team, but Codrington finished fifth in the NFL in yards per punt return (11.6).

OL

Clayton was an English rugby player who spent 10 weeks in Florida last winter training in the NFL International Pathway Program, and he showed enough athleticism at 6-foot-3 and 303 pounds to catch the Bills’ scouting eye. Enough that the team felt he was worth spending the 221st pick on in the hope that he could develop into something.

He had no chance of making the 53-man roster, but he would have been kept on the practice squad because as an IPP graduate, the Bills would have been able to carry him as a 17th member of the squad. However, he suffered a shoulder injury in training camp and spent the entire season on the injured reserve list. He is expected to be on the 90-man roster that will go to training camp.