AFC Notes: Keon Coleman, Nathaniel Hackett, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills second-round WR Keon Coleman isn’t trying to replace any of the veterans who departed from the team’s receiver room and said he is just simply himself.

“Not at all,” Coleman said, via Around The NFL. “All I gotta do is come in, be myself, be who I’m supposed to be … Because I’m not Gabe, I’m not Stef, I’m just Keon. We got a lot of other guys that definitely complement my game … along with (quarterback) Josh (Allen), to make things work.”

Jets

Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett was brought in at the start of last season partially because of his relationship with QB Aaron Rodgers. Hackett is excited about the year two improvements in the offense and reflected on the challenge of last season. 

“Anytime you’re in a second-year offense, it’s a completely different feel from when you first start,” Hackett said, via Jack Bell of the team’s website. “You’re installing plays, you’re installing alignments, and you’re talking about guys just trying to understand what they’re doing. Now you can really detail it up. You can talk about the intricacies of the route. You can experiment with new plays, new motions, all kinds of different, fun things. So it’s been really good. I think the guys have really enjoyed it.”

“There were a lot of things we had to do and there was a lot of adversity. And I think adversity builds strength. And I think some of the experience the guys had, whether it was the young wide receivers, the offensive linemen who were just coming into the building and starting right away, it’s great for being able to put on that game face and feel more confidence.”

Patriots

Patriots WR KJ Osborn played in a similar offense that the team will implement this season under OC Alex Van Pelt, who found success last season with the Browns. 

“If you watched them in Cleveland, they had a really strong run game and some really good tight ends, which I think we have here as well,” Osborn said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “That opens up the pass game, opens up the play-action, opens up the RPOs [run-pass options] and whatever [else] we have.”

Executive director of the Senior Bowl Jim Nagy thinks that Patriots seventh-round TE Jaheim Bell could wind up with a role on offense given what he showed prior to being drafted.

“He is extremely versatile,” Nagy said of Bell. “This isn’t true helmet scouting, but there was some similar usage to him and what they got out of Deebo Samuel when he was [at South Carolina], just in terms of some of the slot and running back versatility. There was some fullback usage in there. He is a sturdy guy on contact, but he’s not going to be an ‘iso’ hammerhead blow-you-up lead blocker back there. But he’s certainly a couple of notches above, athletically, most fullbacks. So just the ability to get in space, adjust, and get a body on people and really sustain contact, he’s going to be able to do that. So he can be an immediate special teams contributor, a developmental fullback, and then the immediate role is in the passing game where you can deploy him in the slot, move him around, motion him, and even put him in the backfield where he can carry it. What will be interesting to see is that he has all this versatility, but it’s one thing to be able to do that physically, it’s another to be able to do it mentally. So how quickly can they get that out of him in his rookie year? I think that will be a big thing to key on in training camp. Is this going to be something out of the gate to start the season? Will it be more midseason? Or will it maybe be more of a redshirt season to get him up to speed in the playbook and roll it out in Year 2?”

Nagy also commented on the Patriots selection of Texas A&M G Layden Robinson in the fourth round, saying the selection was noteworthy when the selection came early in the fourth. 

“Not knowing their draft board, but knowing how teams put boards together, I would venture to guess they had a starter-level grade on him — for the simple fact that Layden is not going to offer a lot of position versatility. He’s really a guard-only player, and to take him where they took him, you’re not drafting a one-position offensive lineman there that you see has a backup ceiling so they probably felt they got good value there,” Nagy explained. “You think about what those conversations were like Friday night, you get the group assembled and you’re looking at the board, those early fourth-round picks are pretty telling on how teams value guys. We spent a lot of time [scouting] him. He had a really good 2021, a little bit of a down 2022 when he was dealing with some injuries, and then had a good 2023. He was one of the guys that I felt like didn’t get enough buzz coming out of Senior Bowl week … He was really good in the 1-on-1 stuff in pass protection. You watch the team stuff and he was moving people off the ball. He is a powerful in-line player.”