The Buffalo Bills have made their way back to their home base on One Bills Drive, taking a break from St. John Fisher University to hold their annual Return of the Blue and Red practice Friday at Highmark Stadium.

To be clear, many refer to this as a scrimmage, but it is not. There was a time when the Bills did use this event for that purpose, but in the last few years it is just another training camp practice, same as the ones that are held in Pittsford, only it takes place in front of thousands more fans.

If you have a ticket and are heading to the stadium, remember, Thruway traffic on a summer Friday afternoon in Buffalo is always heavy, especially for a start time of 5:30 p.m. In fact, it will probably feel like you’re going to a regular-season game, so give yourself time to get there.

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Here are five things I have observed over the first week-plus of practices in Pittsford that you might want to pay attention to when the Bills take the field:

1. Wide receiver Keon Coleman has looked great

Forever more on his NFL bio, the Florida State product will be referred to as a second-round pick. Whether he lives up to that status remains to be seen, but so far, he has exceeded expectations and has looked every bit like a first-round talent.

Coleman has flashed almost every day at Fisher, not only showing good hands, but with his ability to win his routes, and Josh Allen has noticed.

“Just attention to detail,” Allen said when asked what has impressed him. “His football IQ, in my opinion, is off the charts. He understands defenses, he understands leverage when he’s running routes. The catch radius that he has, you can just throw one up and he’s gonna find a way to either go get it or break it up like we saw (Thursday).

“I love the guy. He’s making things personal, going out there and blocking hard, and he’s doing things the right way. He’s making plays in camp, and we’re building that chemistry on the field right now. And I think that off the field we’ve got a very good thing going, too.”

2. Von Miller might actually be playable

The future Hall of Famer flat out admitted a week ago that he probably shouldn’t have played last season after undergoing ACL surgery in late 2022. I think we can all agree with that assessment because he was almost completely irrelevant to the defense.

Many were ready to quit on Miller heading into 2024, thinking the 35-year-old was washed - I’m raising my hand here - and maybe that will be the case once the games begin. However, Miller has looked pretty good to date, particularly when the pads have been on and there’s actually real football being played at the line of scrimmage.

Getting him back to even a semi-productive level would be big for the Bills defense because with Leonard Floyd and his 10.5 sacks gone, Miller, Greg Rousseau and AJ Epenesa need to be impactful on the edge.

“From a guy that has 123 sacks in his career, I mean, it’s Von Miller,” said defensive tackle DaQuan Jones. “I think he’s busting his tail over the year and a half, especially with the offseason of getting back. From what I’m seeing out there, he’s doing moves that he does all the time with 100% confidence. That’s all you can ask for. So, I think he’s gonna come out and play Von-style football.”

For another perspective, here’s what offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, who unlike Jones has to go against Miller, said the other day: “I don’t know if ya’ll see what’s going on, but they better watch out - 40 is back. 40 is back. 40 has his aura back.”

3. Damar Hamlin is making his push for playing time

The Bills have a semi-crisis at safety with the injuries to Mike Edwards and Cole Bishop, both of the week-to-week variety. They signed NFL vets Kareem Jackson and Terrell Burgess because they need capable and competent bodies to get through practice and the upcoming preseason games.

However, Hamlin is taking the opportunity to line up with the first-team defense alongside safety Taylor Rapp and he’s running with it. Now in his fourth year, and last on his rookie contract, Hamlin has moved past his journey as a worldwide phenomenon following his remarkable recovery from an on-field cardiac arrest in January 2023 and it’s all football, all the time now.

He needed last year to get acclimated to playing and regaining his confidence and he saw action in only five games, but throughout the spring and summer he’s been giving the coaching staff plenty to think about regarding his viability as a potential starter, even when Edwards and Bishop return.

“It’s to be expected, respectfully, of the situation that he went through, but an increased focus from a year ago, an increased urgency, and really just getting back to what he was,” coach Sean McDermott said. “ I think he’s been able to do that and you can tell he means business. It’s fun watching him have fun out there.”

Remember, Hamlin was starting games in 2022 when Micah Hyde was lost for most of the year, and as a second-year player Hamlin was showing real promise before that awful night in Cincinnati sent him on quite a detour.

4. Ray Davis has to hold onto the ball

The rookie fourth-round pick has struggled a bit with ball security and that’s not going to conjure much goodwill from McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady. He has fumbled a few times and has also dropped a couple passes and he has to clean it up because he has a chance to make an impression getting more reps with Ty Johnson not practicing since last week.

“Fumbles are a big thing,” Brady said. “His demeanor, he’s as mature as they come. He understands how important football is, and putting those on the ground obviously impacted him. But what I liked is … you can tell about how your team is, how they respond and everything and you watch him and he’s able to move on to the next play.

“In the game, you fumble, they get the ball, you have to go to the sideline. I think a lot of guys, especially young guys, have a tendency when they make a mistake, they let mistakes breed mistakes, and it leads into the next play. He’s able to take a deep breath and be frustrated, but alright, this next opportunity is another one. I’ve been pleased with how he’s played and practiced.”

5. Tyler Bass returns to the scene of the crime

The placekicker has put his unfortunate 2023 postseason behind him, but assuming the Bills do some live field goal kicking in the practice, fans will be hard-pressed to forget Bass’ last kick of the year when he missed a tying 44-yarder in the playoff loss to the Chiefs that cost the Bills a chance to win the game.

Bass received a contract extension that makes him one of the 10 highest-paid kickers in the league, so whether he or the Bills believe it or not, there’s going to be some pressure on him this year.

“Having gone through that adversity last year, I was able to watch him during the offseason when we interacted, during the springtime when we interacted, and coming into camp now, both his mindset and his technique,” special teams coordinator Matt Smiley said. “I believe he’s made improvements because there’s nobody on the planet that wants Tyler Bass to make every kick more than Tyler Bass. He’s locked in and excited about showing that.”

Buffalo Bills news

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Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Keon Coleman has looked great, other observations from Bills camp