Bills training camp 2025 wide receiver preview: What will Keon Coleman’s season look like?
Plus, why Joshua Palmer has sleeper potential.
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Since the Bills changed things up in a big way at wide receiver last offseason, a consistent question about the team has been, when will they make a play for a new number-one target for Josh Allen? The Bills’ answer the last two offseasons has loudly been, “We don’t need one.”
Even without an overwhelming presence on their roster last year, the “Everybody Eats” mantra helped produce some quality results. However, some uneven results early in the season forced their hand in needing to trade for a receiver mid-season. Still needing a bit more for 2025, the Bills invested — albeit a bit more quietly — in an offseason investment at the position.
With the changes they made in the last few months, how does it all fit together? Here is a detailed outlook for when the Bills return for training camp in late July.
2025 Bills projected WR depth chart
What’s changed?
One year after making a massive change to their wide receiver room by trading away Stefon Diggs and then drafting Keon Coleman, the Bills grabbed much less attention in their changes this offseason. They chose not to re-sign trade acquisition Amari Cooper and declined to top the Patriots’ free-agent offer to Mack Hollins. With those two out of the picture, the Bills signed Joshua Palmer to a three-year deal, and then, days after the draft, signed Elijah Moore to a fully guaranteed one-year deal to round out the room. The Bills were in the market to add a receiver in the draft, but the value never aligned with where they were picking, leading them to Moore after the draft ended. The team did draft a receiver late, a seventh-round selection in Kaden Prather, but he may be destined for the practice squad. They also signed Laviska Shenault Jr. as a free agent but for a low amount of guaranteed money. The rest of the top of the receiver room remains unchanged with Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel.
Biggest question
Will Keon Coleman take a big step forward?
While some were hoping for a big swing at receiver during the offseason, the Bills declined to do so, instead opting for continuity with three of their top four. They did not force a significant investment at the position partly because of Coleman, the team’s top draft choice from 2024. Although he’s not technically a first-round pick, Coleman likely would have been their choice had they not moved down two different times during the draft. Right from the early stages of the training camp, it became clear that Coleman would play a significant role in the Bills’ offense — and that’s exactly what happened.
In the first nine games of his NFL career, Coleman led the receivers in snaps in seven of them, and was only two snaps shy of adding an eighth to that list. In games that he played, Coleman took 70 percent of the offensive snaps — the top mark of the receiver room in 2024. At the beginning of the year, Coleman showed some flashes of what he could become as a threat along the boundary in contested situations and some short area targets to help minimize distances to a first down. He had 50 yards or more in four of those nine games and had a two-week stretch where he caught nine passes for 195 yards in Weeks 7 and 8.
The Bills had to be extremely optimistic from what they saw from Coleman over those two games, which is what made what happened the following week a major disappointment to them. In his ninth game, Coleman suffered a wrist injury that kept him out for over a month, not returning until Week 15 against the Lions. Upon his return, it just wasn’t the same for Coleman as he battled through the injury. Including the playoffs, Coleman corralled only eight passes for 130 yards in six games with quarterback Josh Allen.
Fast forward to 2025, the Bills’ offseason moves really revolve around Coleman finding the form he had just ahead of his Week 9 injury. The Bills have noted how hard the receiver has worked in the offseason to get stronger for the upcoming year and it could go a long way this year. But ultimately, it’s up to Coleman to find that next gear in his game, whether it’s as a more dynamic route runner or in becoming more consistent in contested situations, to make sure the common offseason trope of a player being in the best shape of his life is actually meaningful in the results he produces. So much depends on Coleman’s progress. Not only is it for the team’s winning chances in the upcoming season, but if he can become that player in 2025, the Bills might feel content about their top trio and not make another big investment in the position. However, should Coleman level off again in his second season, that might be the catalyst for them to zero in on wide receiver as their significant offseason move in 2026, whether through the draft, free agency or in a trade.
Bubble watch
Laviska Shenault Jr.
Although the bubble intrigue may be lacking at receiver as compared to other positions, Shenault gets some consideration here for a few different reasons. For one, he is probably best suited for the X-receiver role, and because the Bills only have Coleman majoring in that spot, it gives Shenault a bit more of a chance. Second, given his run-after-catch skills and speed, Shenault could have a real shot at the kickoff return job, which could create a spot for him with a second roster function. Third and least important, the Bills liked Shenault during his draft year, and those prior evaluations could make them want to see him in their system a bit longer as a low-cost investment. The odds are that Shenault won’t make the team because they could have answers elsewhere to the value he’d provide, but he probably has the best chance of the potential cut candidates at receiver. Shenault would be a prime practice squad keep, however.
Sleeper potential
Joshua Palmer
For most positions, you’ll see someone on the younger side listed here, or someone who may not have the cleanest path toward making the 53-man roster. So why does Palmer, who signed a three-year free-agent deal this offseason, qualify for sleeper potential? More than anything, his potential role and impact on this year’s passing offense are being slept on a bit, hence the “sleeper” title. Palmer is exactly what the Bills lacked in their offense last year. He’s a route-running technician specializing in separation and has enough speed to push down the field for deeper targets. He’s well-suited to the Z-receiver role after the Bills lacked anyone in 2024 with the skills preferred for that spot.
Instead, because three of their five receivers were at their best in the X-receiver role, the Bills tried to force one of Cooper or Hollins into the Z-receiver spot without any alternatives. Now, with Palmer firmly in that role and without someone to really threaten him for playing time, Palmer might win the Mack Hollins award for an unexpected player who will play a lot more than you think he might. His ability to separate could also translate into more production than people currently expect from him. Should an injury occur to Coleman, Palmer’s versatility would likely put him in line for reps at X receiver, with one of Moore or Samuel filling in at Z.
Special teams
Four of the five receivers projected to make the 53-man roster — Shakir, Coleman, Palmer and Samuel — don’t have much function on special teams. The only way that changes is if the Bills want one of Shakir or Coleman to be the team’s primary punt returner in 2025. There’s also an outside shot that their fifth receiver — which at this point appears to be Moore — might not have any special teams function either. Moore could be a contender for kickoff return and punt return duties because of his speed, but he doesn’t have vast experience doing so in his NFL career. Shenault, should he make the team, would likely be to add a special teams piece and has some clear ability as a kickoff returner. Other bubble types like Jalen Virgil (coverage units), Tyrell Shavers (coverage units) and K.J. Hamler (returner) would likely need to have a standout camp on offense and special teams to make the roster.
Who makes it and why?
Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and Laviska Shenault
There could be some temptation to keep six receivers, especially since the Bills will have a pair of roster spots to play with early in the year due to the Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi suspensions, and for now, I’ll have them going with the six. The Bills have generally only carried five receivers for several years now, and there isn’t a substantial investment past the first five listed that would force their hand. What makes Shenault intriguing is that some of the new rules with the kickoff return and his skill set for it. At Week 7, when Hoecht and Ogunjobi are available, they’ll need someone they can move off the roster, which makes Shenault an option for that. As for Moore, his deal is fully guaranteed and would be a dead cap charge of $2.5 million, which greatly enhances his chances of making the team. If anyone is wondering about Curtis Samuel, his nearly $7 million base salary is fully guaranteed and he showed some positive signs near the end of 2024, so he’s very likely on the team.