Bills GM Brandon Beane: Josh Allen 'pretty pumped' we drafted WR Keon Coleman

Josh Allen is excited about new target Keon Coleman, the receiver Buffalo snagged at the top of the second round last week.

Coleman relayed after being drafted that Allen texted him, “You’re the guy that I wanted.” Bills general manager Brandon Beane expanded on Allen’s input into the process that led to drafting Coleman during a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

“Josh is crazy about the draft process. He loves it,” Beane said on Tuesday. “If I get a call from Josh in the offseason, it’s usually him seeing somebody on a highlight, running into somebody, throwing with somebody — just something to ask me what I think about this guy. He called me at the Senior Bowl (asking) what do I think about a couple of guys there. So he loves it.

“He’s been in the building the last couple of weeks now that the offseason program’s started. So we did give him some guys, we said, ‘Hey, sit back with the coaches, y’all watch them together and talk about how you’d use them. I’d like to hear what you see.’ And he liked a lot of the guys, he really did. But Keon was one — I know he liked him a lot, too. And Josh and I didn’t speak on Thursday, really. Maybe he stopped by that morning. But that next day, Friday morning, he FaceTimed me. Actually, I was still at home before I headed in here. And he was like, ‘What are you thinking?’ And I said, ‘Well, barring somebody blowing me away, I’m going to take Keon.’ And he was pretty pumped.”

When the Bills traded down twice from picks 28 and 32 during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the club likely had multiple players it was comfortable selecting. Buffalo securing the No. 33 pick atop the second round meant Beane controlled the opening of Day 2 of the draft and could take Coleman unless a team blew him away with a trade offer.

In watching Coleman’s film, it’s not hard to see what Allen would love about the big-bodied receiver. The FSU product put together an array of difficult catches as impressive as any wideout in this year’s draft. His ability to snag the pigskin in tight quarters will translate well to the pros.

The biggest knock on Coleman is that he doesn’t generate a ton of separation from defensive backs. But if you’re Allen, trusting your laser rocket arm to fit the ball into tight windows, that negative likely doesn’t bother you so much.