All Spotlights • Laveranues Coles Player Page • NYJ Projections • WR Projections • WR Rankings • NYJ Team Report

Spotlight - WR Laveranues Coles, New York Jets

Posted on 7/1, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Colin Dowling's Thoughts

As the 2007 football season approaches, there are many questions that we're all seeking answers to. Can the Colts repeat? Are the Patriots stockpiled for another Championship? Will Herman Edwards find a way to give Larry Johnson the ball even more? Is there any iron-clad way to tell Santana Moss and Laveranues Coles apart?
 
I'm only halfway kidding on the last question. For the last few years, it seems like the Jets and Redskins keep passing around Coles to stand in as their number one receiver, catch 90 balls, half a dozen touchdowns, and generally fulfill the expectations of the fantasy community. In hindsight, the timeline is a little tricky; Coles filled the role for the Jets before going to the Redskins. In stepped Santana Moss, a player of similar size and build. Moss picks up where Coles left off. A couple seasons later, the players are traded and now Laveranues Coles is back in the green and white and Moss is in Washington replacing the guy he replaced a few seasons before in New York. Got it?

The good news in all of this is that despite the confusion and despite playing with fairly mediocre quarterbacks, Laveranues Coles still produced as a solid fantasy option. In the last five seasons, Coles has averaged 85 receptions, 1,072 yards, and not missed a single game. Three times in five seasons he's been a top-16 wide receiver, including last year.

At present, Coles he is being selected as the 20^th receiver off the board, right near the end of the fifth round of 12-team leagues. That is only a few slots below where he finished the fantasy season in 2006 (16^th). Coles may have some gas left in the tank, but the emergence of Jerricho Cotchery as well as the addition of pass-catching Thomas Jones may make selecting Coles so high a bit of a gamble. Similarly, Coles has often relied on his speed and route-running to create separation in the open field. While he is by no means slow, it is evident that his effectiveness is waning as age catches up with his quickness. He has benefited greatly by getting a large number of targets in the passing game regardless of what system he is playing in and what quarterback is under center. That said, he has also benefited from there being very few other reliable receiving options on his team's roster, making him the pass-catcher of choice almost by default.

Positives

• Long history of consistent production
• Doesn't miss games
• Benefits from lots of targets, regardless of system or quarterback

Negatives

• Thomas Jones and Jerricho Cotchery will likely eat in to the opportunities in the passing game
• Coles has never scored a high number of touchdowns
• Limited upside. Coles has never been a top-10 receiver and isn't likely to reverse that trend in 2007

Final Thoughts

It would be foolish to think that Coles won't produce enough to be worth a mid-round selection. He certainly has a long history of consistency and has shown the good-health and good-fortune to be a solid every week starter. However, it would be foolish to think that he will keep receiving so many targets and catching so many balls now that Cotchery has had a few seasons to develop and Thomas Jones is in town. At best, you get a productive receiver with very little describable upside. At worst, you get a receiver whose greatest asset -- lots of targets -- disappears as other options emerge in the passing game.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

Ministry of Pain:
.Coles is value. Usually can be snared in the 6th round or later in many redrafts...posts numbers almost as god as many top 15-20 WRs so we like that. At the end of the day he will have 80-90+ catches, about 1,100+ yds and 5-6+ TD...

85 Rec
1,100 yds
5 TDs

Nothing flashy but he makes a great WR3 in leagues where you have to start that many or implement a 1-2 flex rule on top of starting 2 WR.

He is a liability though as a WR1 or even a WR2 when you are facing people loaded at WR with combos like Holt/Owens, or ChJohnson/R.Wayne...you have to make sure Coles fits into your team and you are not relying on him to win you games.

Chase Stuart:
He is the active record holder for consecutive games played by a receiver.

He doesn't drop the ball. He had just 3 drops on 151 targets.

He's targeted a ton near the LOS. I don't know if he's targeted for short passes disproportionately compared to other WR1s, but I'd suspect this is so. I also suspect this is because of the Jets offense the past few years, and not because of Coles' inability to stretch the field. I think this is the explanation for his consistently low yards per reception average.

Thom Yorke:
Virtually anyone is a liability at WR2 when you face the team (or two at most) that is absolutely stacked at WR. Odds are, however, that you've got an advantage over that team at RB, because the other owner(s) burned their first and second round picks on wideouts. Occasionally, teams do manage to have good RB corps AND stud WR via trades, but I can't ever recall more than two teams in my 12 team money league having a Holt/Owens type tandem. In my book, Coles is a pretty darn good WR2.

Laveranues Coles Projections