Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman has been no stranger to controversy. Over the course of Coleman’s first two NFL seasons, the highlights have been few and far between after an entrance at One Bills Drive that immediately won over the hearts of Bills Mafia. If there’s one person who gets Coleman, it’s likely former Bills great Stevie Johnson, who long ago asked those watching: “Why so serious?”
In fact, Johnson is looking to help Coleman, now stepping in as a mentor this offseason to help the
young wide receiver realize his true potential. Johnson himself well understands the challenges that come with being a professional wide receiver — a position where alpha traits often top the list of needs.
Johnson’s future in the NFL was anything but certain as a seventh-round pick with the Bills during the 2008 NFL Draft, but he turned real opportunity into true success as an eventual focal point at wide receiver beginning with the 2010 NFL season. Johnson went on to become the only Bills wide receiver at that point in history to post three consecutive 1,000-yard-plus receiving seasons (2010 through 2012).
Yet Johnson is quite familiar with some of the struggles facing Coleman, where some of his off-field actions drew plenty of unwanted attention. Still, very few were capable of playing wide receiver the same way as Johnson, which he undoubtedly wants to help Coleman discover in his own game. Johnson always managed to rise above the noise, and that’s clearly something from which Coleman cold benefit to learn.
In a social media post shared by Andy Young following an interview between Johnson and the Buffalo End Zone podcast, SJ13 was quick to point out how new Coleman is to playing wide receiver. That has him excited to see what’s in store for Coleman entering year three, hopefully with the best in front of him and the Bills.
“Initially, I definitely wanted Keon Coleman because when you look at his college tape he was jumping over guys. We have a quarterback that was jumping over guys, so why not get two guys who jump over guys. So I figured that would be a great connection, and then we went and pulled the trigger and we got him. So from there I ended up studying Keon: ‘Oh, he used to play basketball. Okay that’s pretty cool, I used to play basketball.’ So you know you have the skill and the abilities to make plays and to beat defenders because of the basketball, you know, background. But what I didn’t know about Keon was exactly how new he was to the wide receiver game — and I didn’t know this until this past offseason where I got to really talk to him. In the first two seasons I never communicated with Keon. But this offseason I got to get on the phone with him, text message with him, go back and forth with videos, and now I’m understanding that he was just collecting data those first two years — and he still had over 400 yards. So right now I’m even higher on him, that I’ve been able to do some type of mentorship with him and really understand what he’s thinking. He’s (been able) to ask me questions, so I’m really high on Keon, to be honest, as an X-factor. Not as a numbered receiver — one, two, three, four — but as an X-factor who’s gonna make plays when he needs to.”
