Keon Coleman has gained much publicity through his fun personality. He seems like a great guy to be around but for the 33rd overall pick can his play style translate to the NFL? Keon Coleman is a 6’3″ 213lbs wide receiver out of Florida State. Much of his game relied on being that big-body receiver making contested catches. Coleman was known to not be able to create separation as well as a poor route runner. He doesn’t have blazing speed similar to other poor route runners in the NFL. Obviously in today’s NFL if a player is willing to put in the work a coach can establish a position as well as play for that player. But after watching Keon Colemans play I can’t help but compare his playstyle to Denzel Mims when he came out of Baylor in 2020. Similarly, Denzel Mims is a 6’3″ big-body receiver, drafted by the New York Jets in 2020, and looks to make contested grabs. He was unable to create much space and this allowed NFL cornerbacks to drown him. Big-body receivers in college football can do well because the cornerbacks guarding them are much slower and smaller. The NFL is a completely different ball game and players like Sauce Gardner or Jalen Ramsey can keep up with Coleman, they are much bigger and won’t simply get bodied out for a jump ball.

Coleman seems like a great person to be around and a fan favorite. Bills fans already seemed to welcome him in with arms wide open. But the fear of his game translating is the biggest question. I wish the best for this young player but for me, I can only see a repeat of Denzel Mims. There seemed to be so much potential just for it all to be false potential. In today’s NFL, the biggest factors for success are speed and route running.

are the days when a big-body wide receiver was a game-changer. Many of the dominant NFL receivers are not over the height of 6’1″. Obviously, Coleman can refine his route running and become slightly faster but for now, I believe he will not work out and be a bust similar to Denzel Mims.