The Buffalo Bills lost a lot of significant playmakers this offseason, but they also added some potential stars. The team drafted wide receiver Keon Coleman in the second round on last week's NFL Draft with the No. 33 overall pick and quarterback Josh Allen is already looking forward to throwing passes to the former Florida State star.
The 20-year-old said he received a text from Allen on Friday, before he was drafted that said (via the team's official website), "You're the guy that I want. I watched a lot of receivers and I want to play with you."
Clearly the two-time Pro Bowler gives his stamp of approval on the pick. Allen has good reason to be excited about throwing to Coleman, who led the Seminoles last season with 658 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. With the trade of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who led the Bills in targets (160), receptions (107), receiving yards (1,183) and receiving touchdowns (8), Allen is in need of some options on offense.
Coleman reciprocated the feeling back to Allen, saying he was hoping the Bills, who traded down to No. 33, would end up as his team.
"I've been saying the same thing," Coleman said. "I want to play with the guy that wears No. 17. I think he's a great quarterback, one of the best in the league right now and I would love to be catching passes from him. I'm ready for that."
Allen was involved in the team's selections, Bills general manager Brandon Beane revealed, saying his quarterback is "crazy about the draft process" and "loves it."
"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," Beane said. "He called me at the Senior Bowl [to ask] what do I think about a couple of guys there. So he loves it."
Beane said he was curious about what Allen saw in certain prospects, asking him to watch film with coaches and talk about how he would utilize certain players in a game scenario. The GM said he wanted to hear what Allen saw in these players and it was Coleman who stuck out as one of the players the 27-year-old admired.
When Beane revealed that the team was likely going to take Coleman, Allen was "pretty pumped."
