AFC Notes: Keon Coleman, Chase Claypool, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills HC Sean McDermott said WR Chase Claypool is on a mission to “reclaim” his prior success and has been impressed by the receiver in their offseason program. 

โ€œHe is on a mission right now to reclaim what he once was,โ€ McDermott said, via the team’s YouTube. โ€œAnd those are my words โ€ฆ I would just say very impressed with his day-to-day approach, true pro, high character, smart player, and heโ€™s been a good addition to our team.โ€

Claypool told reporters he doesn’t feel like he needs to prove himself to anyone and just wants to help the team. 

โ€œI donโ€™t come in with any baggage from the outside world,โ€ Claypool said. โ€œIโ€™m not here to prove that Iโ€™m not what they say I am. Iโ€™m just here to be who I am and be a part of the team.โ€

Jets

The Jets haven’t had a settled situation at left tackle for years and years, ever since former LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson called it a career after 10 years of playing virtually every snap. Their dream is for first-round LT Olu Fashanu to become that kind of player, even if it’s possible he doesn’t play a single snap his rookie season behind veteran LT Tyron Smith.

“The NFL has gotten to the place where they want immediate impact, but I think for people to learn what that transition is like to the league, it just benefits you,” Ferguson told ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

“I’m excited for a player like him,” he added. “This is a ripe opportunity to grow in. Had the Jets not made so many moves, I think the expectation would’ve been even harder because now if he doesn’t perform, they’re going to look for other ways to make fixes. But I think they put him in a position to have success. I’m happy and excited to see where this goes.”

  • Cimini mentions Jets WR Jason Brownlee has been getting some buzz this spring and is a player to watch as the intensity of practices ramps up throughout the summer. 
  • Jets TE coach Ron Middleton and WR coach Shawn Jefferson were selected to attend the NFL’s head coaching accelerator program. (Jonathan Jones)

Patriots

New England was close to making a draft day trade with the Bills before Buffalo turned around and made a similar deal with Carolina. NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reports the Patriots wanted first-round WR Xavier Legette or second-round WR Keon Coleman, but couldn’t get either when the deal fell apart.

“I talked with someone with the Patriots who felt a little jaded because they thought that they had sort ofโ€ฆ close to an agreement with the Bills. And they believe that agreement was kind of shopped to the Panthers,” Wolfe said, via Carlos Talks Pats. “Because the Panthers have a relationship with Dan Morgan, Brandon Beane. They have that bondโ€ฆ theyโ€™re not helping their division rival, so I get it.”

“But ultimate, [the Patriots] ended up not getting up thereโ€ฆ and so their top two [Keon] Coleman and [Xavier] Legette both go pickedโ€ฆ you hear all the time, ‘Hey we got the guy we wanted, he was gonna be our pick no matter what.’ That wasnโ€™t the case here. The Patriots wouldโ€™ve loved to have Keon Coleman or Xavier Legette โ€” it did not work that way.”

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