2024 NFL Draft: One pivotal rookie for each team in the AFC East
As the NFL offseason has entered OTA faze, players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft have gotten a glimpse of NFL life. In the AFC East, there are some storylines to watch when it comes to the rookie class like whether Drake Maye starts for the New England Patriots and whether Keon Coleman can become the man in Buffalo.
High expectations are always tough on a rookie, but they also show the makeup of a potential NFL star with how well they can handle the pressure while also helping their teams win. So, when looking at the rosters of the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Patriots and New York Jets, NFL Mocks selected four rookies (one from each team) who can play a pivotal role on their team.
One of the big questions this offseason is this one:
Can the Buffalo Bills stay onto of the AFC East with the loss of Stefan Diggs?
That will depend on who well Josh Allen adapts to not having a stud like Diggs, but also how well their second-round pick fits into the offense.
Buffalo Bills – WR Keon Coleman (Round 2– Pick 33)
Josh Allen will be without his two top receivers entering the 2024 NFL season. Not only did they lose No. 2 receiver Gabriel Davis in free agency, but they also traded their top offensive weapon Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. What did the Bills do to replace that production?
Diggs will be hard to replace, but in drafting Keon Coleman with the No. 33 overall pick in the2024 NFL Draft, the Bills get a big, tough, athletic wide receiver who must have chemistry with Allen as the Bills look to rebuild their offensive weaponry around the star QB and the two tight ends in Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox.
Through OTAs, Allen already likes what sees in the 6-foot-3, 213-pound big-bodied receiver out of Florida State. Allen joined NFL Network’s The Insiders on Thursday and marveled about his new young rookie receiver.
“I think his play style (is) what we needed in our offense,” Allen said, via NFL.com. “Talking with our offensive coordinator (Joe Brady), our quarterbacks coach (Ronald Curry), (general manager) Brandon Beane and, obviously, coach (Sean) McDermott, a guy that’s a big-bodied guy and can go win on a back-shoulder fade and not afraid to be a physical wide receiver.”
Sounds like Allen sees a player he is going to enjoy getting the ball to and a player who has an opportunity to shine in a wide receiver group that includes Curtis Samuel, Khalik Shakir, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, Mack Hollins and Andy Isabella. If Coleman finds his way and becomes that top receiver target for Allen in 2024, the Bills will still be a threat in the AFC.