Xavier Worthy: So far, not much more than a gadget guy

[Nephilim17]

Well, lookee here...

Worthy has 198 yards right now.

And Keon had 201.  326 yards! Corrected by the scholar and gentleman @Motorin'

Edited yesterday at 03:20 AM by Nephilim17

[90sBills]

I was surprised Worthy got up after that safety hit him. 

[Motorin']

1 minute ago, Nephilim17 said:

Well, lookee here...

 

Worthy has 198 yards right now.

 

And Keon had 201.

 

Keon has 326 yards. 

[Nephilim17]

Just now, Motorin' said:

 

Keon has 326 yards. 

That's a million times better!

Sorry, but I looked at the "Career" total on ESPN... Bizarre.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4635008/keon-coleman

[NickelCity]

27 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

I was a Gabe hater, but let’s not act like he doesn’t belong on the field.   Keon should continue to develop into a more impactful guy and we’re all excited for that.

 

He does belong on the field, but he's a ok WR3 awesome WR4 imo. And he was awful at slants. 

 

Was very good in the run game.

Edited yesterday at 03:31 AM by NickelCity

[Alphadawg7]

12 hours ago, DCofNC said:

So far, Coleman looks like Gabe Davis with Hands.  That’s not a bad thing, hopefully he keeps developing and can consistently be a factor.  He looks to be running more of a variety of routes now, so I’d say the progress is there, he’s doing as much as we should hope for thus far.

Gabe Davis had a limited route tree and didn’t run crisp routes.  Coleman is already a better route runner from the aspect of a bigger route tree alone and has substantially better body control, feet, and positional awareness.  Coleman is also more explosive with the ball in his hands and RAC. 
 

Calling him Davis with hands is short changing Coleman’s tool box of skills.  They really are not at all that similar. 

Edited yesterday at 02:15 PM by Alphadawg7

[DCofNC]

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Gabe Davis had a limited route tree and didn’t run crisp routes.  Coleman is already a better route runner from the aspect of a bigger route tree alone and has substantially better body control, feet, and positional awareness.  Coleman is also more explosive with the ball in his hands and RAC. 
 

Calling him Davis with hands is short changing Coleman’s tool box of skills.  They really are not at all that similar. 

I was speaking more to the fact they fill a similar role, have had a similar impact and actually to your point, both are limited in the route tree.  Also, neither is really qualified as a #1 or #2 option (yet).  Keon is taking in more routes now, which is nice to see.   One would hope a guy taken much higher in the draft would have a little more upside than the guy who came in from the 4th round and ground his way into the line up.  That said, Davis wasn’t a bad player here (when he caught the ball), showed some outstanding understanding of helping the QB out and made some filthy sideline toe taps, so I’m not 100% sold that he didn’t have great body control, but it certainly wasn’t consistently on display.  
 

Keon has the tools to become more, will he?  Time will tell.  I have hopes he becomes kind of Brandon Marshall-esque, keep Keons personality though haha.   He might not burn you, but he can shield his guy, be open when he’s not and offer a little something for YAC.  If he gets near that level with JA at QB, teams are going to have a problem on their hands.   I don’t expect to see that this year, but IF they keep Coop or add a true 1 and let Keon eat without shouldering the load, I think he could become a solid #1, preferably a 1b type.

[Mat68]

He is a different type of deep threat.  1 on 1 you like his odds of fighting through contact for the ball and will lend itself to Pi calls.  Can under-throw it slightly vs needing to hit him in-stride.  His underneath ability and yac is what makes him more than a one trick possession wr.  I see him as being able to offer the Davis stuff down the field with more ability under 10 yards. 

[damj]

[SoonerBillsFan]

3 minutes ago, damj said:

But wait I thought speed = a greater Yds/rec and TD's?  ( Sarcasm off )

[Alphadawg7]

23 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

I was speaking more to the fact they fill a similar role, have had a similar impact and actually to your point, both are limited in the route tree.  Also, neither is really qualified as a #1 or #2 option (yet).  Keon is taking in more routes now, which is nice to see.   One would hope a guy taken much higher in the draft would have a little more upside than the guy who came in from the 4th round and ground his way into the line up.  That said, Davis wasn’t a bad player here (when he caught the ball), showed some outstanding understanding of helping the QB out and made some filthy sideline toe taps, so I’m not 100% sold that he didn’t have great body control, but it certainly wasn’t consistently on display.  
 

Keon has the tools to become more, will he?  Time will tell.  I have hopes he becomes kind of Brandon Marshall-esque, keep Keons personality though haha.   He might not burn you, but he can shield his guy, be open when he’s not and offer a little something for YAC.  If he gets near that level with JA at QB, teams are going to have a problem on their hands.   I don’t expect to see that this year, but IF they keep Coop or add a true 1 and let Keon eat without shouldering the load, I think he could become a solid #1, preferably a 1b type.

 

Davis was a liability with getting his feet in bounds though, I think people forget how many times he should have completed a catch but didn't becuase of his feet.  There was one last year he was like 3 or 4 yards from the sideline and still didn't get both feet in.  The issue wasn't that he "couldn't" it was he did not have good positional awareness or focus at times.

 

And Keon already has a more expansive route tree and runs them better IMO than Davis thanks to how much more athletic and twitchy Keon is compared to Davis who tends to round off his routes.  Keon has a lot still to learn of course, but I just don't think they are similar at all as players outside some low hanging fruit stuff like neither having great straight line speed, both having good size.  Their skill sets are quite different.  2 things Davis has on Keon right now is blocking (but Keon isn't far behind, was known as the best blocker of the WR class this year too) and improvising when Allen is scrambling...both things that are more a reflection of Keon being a rookie and still developing and learning in those areas.

 

Now in terms of role, if you want to say similar to Davis in terms he isn't a focal point yet in the offense, then sure I can see why you would say that.  But I think this comparison by many people keeps getting thrown around for the wrong reasons with Keon and Davis as they really are not that similar of a player on the field.  

 

I do agree about Brandon Marshall, in fact, I said if Keon can reach his potential then he could be a blend of Hopkins and Marshall (not saying he is now, saying if he reached his potential).  Neither of those guys were straight line fast, but they learned the nuances that create the separation to be consistently dangerous WR's and used their ball skills. size, and body control down field even when the separation wasn't there as the prototypical "open even when not open" type WR's.  Funny enough, Keons pro day 40 time was faster than both those guys, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, etc.  What will determine Keon's long term success as a top tier WR will be how well he can develop his game off the line and the nuances and sudden movements to create the separation consistently.  He is already good on certain routes like a hook or comeback route and the slant.  

 

The good news on Keon is he has the athletic ability to get there potentially where as Gabe never had the athletic ability to be much more than what he is now.  

[Mikie2times]

14 hours ago, DCofNC said:

So far, Coleman looks like Gabe Davis with Hands.  That’s not a bad thing, hopefully he keeps developing and can consistently be a factor.  He looks to be running more of a variety of routes now, so I’d say the progress is there, he’s doing as much as we should hope for thus far.

He has almost nothing in common with Gabe Davis outside of both playing WR for the Bills. 

[TheBrownBear]

2 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Gabe Davis had a limited route tree and didn’t run crisp routes.  Coleman is already a better route runner from the aspect of a bigger route tree alone and has substantially better body control, feet, and positional awareness.  Coleman is also more explosive with the ball in his hands and RAC. 
 

Calling him Davis with hands is short changing Coleman’s tool box of skills.  They really are not at all that similar. 

Yeah, they're really not alike at all.  Coleman's game reminds me more of like a Michael Irvin type (not that he's anywhere close to Irvin's level at this point).  There's a smoothness and athleticism there that Gabe Davis clearly lacks.

[Alphadawg7]

13 hours ago, 90sBills said:

I was surprised Worthy got up after that safety hit him. 

 

His life flashed before his eyes on that one and he was dazed on the bench...I didn't know if he would even make it back in the game after they showed his so distraught on the bench after that hit.  I mean his face had a look on it like he just got hit by a car

[Alphadawg7]

23 minutes ago, damj said:

 

And consider this too...Keon only had 1 catch over weeks 2 and 3 (for a TD week 3) because week 2 it was the Cook show and our offense chewed clock the 2nd half where Allen only threw for like 130 yards and week 3 where Keon was benched 1st quarter for being late and then only really played the 2nd quarter as again the offense just chewed clock second half.  Not to mention, the offense had a slow start week 1 where Allen only had 2 pass attempts with around 2 min left in the first half.  

 

Had those first 3 weeks been games where we were really throwing all 4 quarters and Keon was involved in all 4 each week not having to miss one, he would be probably closer or past 25 rec and approaching 500 yards.  

[Back2Buff]

Coleman needs to watch how Pickens wins 50/50 balls.  There is no reason why Coleman can't play like Pickens.

[ddaryl]

20 minutes ago, Back2Buff said:

Coleman needs to watch how Pickens wins 50/50 balls.  There is no reason why Coleman can't play like Pickens.

 

 

I feel Keon will get better at body positioning in this league with experience and just getting more in synch with Allen.

 

I expect solid improvement...

Edited 21 hours ago by ddaryl

[Mat68]

14 minutes ago, Back2Buff said:

Coleman needs to watch how Pickens wins 50/50 balls.  There is no reason why Coleman can't play like Pickens.

Coleman is averaging more tds per catch and has more TDs than Pickens.  Compared to other wrs Colemans targets are lower.  I think yesterdays usage is what he will see moving forward.  Wont have 50 yard slants every week but he will see 7 or so targets a game.  I really like him as the solo wr in heavy sets.  That slant will open up the fade and back-shoulder.     

[Alphadawg7]

20 minutes ago, Back2Buff said:

Coleman needs to watch how Pickens wins 50/50 balls.  There is no reason why Coleman can't play like Pickens.

 

Not sure Pickens is the guy he should watch film on, he has a poor work ethic, attitude and runs lazy and sloppy routes if he doesn't think he is getting the ball.   

 

But also...Pickens is in his 3rd season now...Coleman will continue to develop in all areas as he gets more reps and targets on the field.  

[folz]

14 hours ago, Nephilim17 said:

Well, lookee here...

Worthy has 198 yards right now.

And Keon had 201.  326 yards! Corrected by the scholar and gentleman @Motorin'

 

To be fair to Worthy, he also has 47 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs. So, total yards and TDs actually look like this:

 

              Total Yards      TDs

Worthy       245               4

Coleman    326               2 (should be three---darn refs)

 

 

[Still like Coleman better though, especially for our team---and think he'll continue to have better overall stats as the year progresses. He definitely has the swag of a top-end receiver---hopefully his game continues in that direction.]

Edited 20 hours ago by folz