Bills 'don't care' about Keon Coleman's poor 40-yard dash, think 'they've got something' in the rookie

The Buffalo Bills are not at all concerned with wide receiver Keon Coleman's poor testing at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman (WO04) during the 2024 / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A learned wise man who just so happens to be a human rhinoceros with a cannon attached to his right shoulder once eloquently said “Stats are for losers;” the Buffalo Bills are borrowing this phrase and twisting it, a tad, with regard to rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman: ‘tests are for losers.’

Coleman, a former Florida State wide receiver who tallied 50 receptions for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns in Tallahassee last season, hurt his draft stock a bit with a generally underwhelming performance at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-foot-3 aerial threat with great ball skills saw the hype around him diminish with a poor outing in the 40-yard dash, completing the drill in 4.61 seconds—the second slowest time amongst all wideouts at the Combine.

The time, though worrisome to some clubs, did little to impact Buffalo’s opinion of the prospect; the team selected him with the first pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, with Coleman figuring to play an immediate role in a Bills receiving corps now sans Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis.

Buffalo has already put its money where its mouth is regarding Coleman's 40-time, but it’s still humorous to its general thoughts on his performance. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler discussed the team’s reaction to the wideout’s 40-yard dash on Sunday’s edition of SportsCenter, stating that they “really don’t care” about the time.

"That's considered slow, but this is a major athlete," Fowler said, per Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker. "I even saw the other day some of his basketball high school highlights. Crazy athlete. They believe his contested catch ability, his size, that Josh Allen just kind of tossing 30-40 yards downfield he can muscle people, cornerbacks, and get those extra yards. They believe that they've got something here."

Related: How rookie WR Keon Coleman is learning Bills 'different' offensive playbook

Fowler’s comments align with what fans have seen from the Bills’ brass; the team’s official YouTube channel recently highlighted Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane’s reaction to Coleman’s 40-yard-dash, with the veteran executive even appearing excited after he clocked in at 4.61.

“I’m glad he ran that,” Beane told assistant general manager Brian Gaine and director of player personnel Terrance Gray after Coleman ran. “It’ll help to get him.”

Making the team more confident in their initial assessment of Coleman was his outing in the gauntlet drill, where he peaked at a group-high 20.36 miles per hour, per NextGenStats.

Coleman may not be a strong athletic tester, but his athleticism shows up time and time again on tape. The Bills hope that his athletic ability will translate to the field in Orchard Park, as the 20-year-old projects as the team’s ‘X’ wide receiver straight away.