Buscaglia: Bell not a top-four WR for Bills ATM

Coleman took the field with the starters on Saturday and also spent some time with the second team offense. Coleman scored the first unofficial touchdown at the new Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen evaded pressure in the backfield to find Coleman in the end zone for a nine-yard score, while backup Kyle Allen connected with Coleman twice. It’s been a challenging year and a half for Coleman, who was a healthy scratch for a few games last season. The Bills remain committed to giving Coleman a chance to succeed. This decent showing in limited preseason action is an encouraging sign.

Brady said this to Coleman right after he took the Bills’ head coaching job. The former No. 33 overall pick posted a 38-404-4 receiving line last year. He was a healthy scratch multiple times despite the team desperately needing a receiver to step up. Coleman himself acknowledged 2026 as a make-or-break season. While he may get another chance to be in the mix for targets, the team is fully committed to DJ Moore as their WR1 after trading for him and guaranteeing extra money for him down the road. With Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid also locked in for notable roles, there isn’t much meat left on the bone for Coleman. Even if he turns things around, Coleman is unlikely to make much of an impact for fantasy purposes.

Bell likely profiles as a potential deep sleeper in 2026, but he would have some real fantasy value if he found a real role in Buffalo’s offense. Keon Coleman hasn’t exactly endeared himself to anyone and Joshua Palmer had a lackluster first season with the Bills. With Tyrell Shavers also likely out early after tearing an ACL in the playoffs, Bell should be on the radar in the late second or early third round of rookie drafts.

The Bills seem committed to the idea that Coleman, who was the subject of trade talks earlier this offseason, can still live up to the potential that made him the 33rd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Coleman has struggled to hit the mark thus far in his career, catching 67 passes for 960 yards and eight touchdowns in 26 career games, and was a healthy scratch for parts of last season due to some off-field disciplinary issues. Beane said he believes Coleman’s “best year is yet to come here in 2026.” We’ll see how that plays out, given the recent additions of D.J. Moore and Skyler Bell this offseason.

Taken by Buffalo with the 125th pick in the 2026 draft, Bell — a hyper-productive wideout at UConn — joins DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, and Keon Coleman in an underwhelming receivers room. Bell, Helman said, enters the NFL with a multifaceted skill set that is highly valued among most NFL front offices. “This is probably the most reckless thing I’ll say on this show,” Helman said. “This is Ja’Marr Chase lite. He’s a freak athlete, he’s explosive, but he’s very powerful and strong. And watching him, I was just like, obviously, he’s not Ja’Marr Chase ... but he does all that type of stuff. He can take it to the house. He can just body people out of the way. He can high point the ball. If I was trying to get Ja’Marr Chase’s skillset on late day two or even into day three, I’m all the way in on this guy.” Helman wasn’t alone in his praise of Bell, who last season was second among all college wideouts in yards per route run. Ryan Fowler of NBC Sports Philadelphia said in March that Bell, 23, was close to a Round One prospect. The Bills took him late on the third day of the draft.

Bell (6’/192) originally committed to Wisconsin, where he redshirted in his first year and turned a starting role into 440 receiving yards plus 260 rushing yards in the following season. The Badgers scaled his role back in 2023, which limited him to a measly 296 yards. Without much to do in Wisconsin, Bell transferred to UConn. Now back in a full-time role, he immediately popped for a team-high 850 yards. Several schools made Bell offers in the transfer portal. UConn head coach Jim Mora confirmed that Bell even had a $500K offer from Michigan on the table. UConn ultimately retained its top wideout and was rewarded with a dominant season. Bell posted a 101-1,278-13 receiving line, setting the school record for catches and receiving touchdowns in a single season. He operated at all depths of the field throughout his five years in college, but his skills were maximized when the Huskies peppered him with underneath targets. Bell averaged 8.2 YAC per catch and moved the chains 50 times in 2025. Only three wideouts created more first downs last year. The step up in competition from UConn to the NFL could be tough, but Bell has the makings of a dynamic WR2 at the next level.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Coleman is guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup, and as of now he’d probably battle Josh Palmer for starting work next to Khalil Shakir and DJ Moore. The bottom line is that the Bills seem likely to keep him on the roster this year, but we probably shouldn’t count on him as an unlikely post-hype breakout in year three.

Wolfe talked with both Bills GM Brandon Beane and HC Joe Brady, both of whom professed they’d like to keep Coleman and said they think he can have a career year. We’re not exactly calling for a breakout with Coleman here — his stock is clearly down from where it was last year — but if he makes it into the starting lineup with Josh Allen it wouldn’t be completely surprising if he turned it around either. Wolfe believes the Bills would need a Day 2 pick to move on from Coleman, which is a laughable idea after how the past calendar year has gone.

Last week, Bills owner Terry Pegula blamed former head coach Sean McDermott for the second-round pick spent on Coleman in 2024, absolving general manager Brandon Beane along the way. Brady said that he spoke with Coleman after being named the Bills’ new head coach, telling the young wide receiver that he fully supports him. Day 2 picks are rarely traded or released just two years into their career, but Brady’s comments help clarify Coleman’s status on the roster following Pegula’s strong remarks.

Pegula during a press conference Wednesday absolved general manager Brandon Beane of responsibility for the sorry state of the team’s wideout room. Referring to the drafting of Coleman in 2024, Pegula said Beane “has taken, for some reason, heat about it, and I’m here to say a word about it.” Pegula said former head coach Sean McDermott’s wide receivers coaches advocated for taking Coleman, who has been an unmitigated bust over the past two seasons. Pegula added that he fired McDermott — among the league’s most successful coaches over the past decade — based on the Bills’ Divisional Round loss to the Broncos.